Team Obito
by New Orion
Summary: Look into the life of Team 7 with a different sensei on a completely new adventure. Familiar faces in different positions. Just saying it here, I do not own the Naruto franchise.
1. Team 7

The three members of the newly formed Team 7 sat in their old class room waiting for their sensei. The last of the teams had already left an hour ago when Sakura broke the silence.

"I wonder if our sensei will always be this late." She said to no one in particular.

Naruto and Sasuke both looked up and at each other realizing the same thing. "Oh shit!" They both exclaimed together.

Confused Sakura was about to question the two males in her group about what made them react that way but she stopped when she heard footsteps in the hallway.

The door slid open and the first thing they saw was a man wearing the Jonin vest, but underneath it was a black outfit that had black armor plates on his shoulders and sides of his leg. Sakura didn't really recognize him but looking back at her teammates she could tell they could.

"Why did I have to get a goof like you for a sensei!" Naruto exclaimed looking at their sensei.

The sensei smiled a smile that Sakura thought was oddly similar to Naruto's.

"Coming from you that's a really dumb thing to say." Sasuke said to Naruto,

Naruto immediately turned on his oldest friend, "And what do you mean by that you teme."

Sasuke turned back and yelled, "It means that you're the only person in the village who is an even bigger goof than he is!"

Confused Sakura looked up to her sensei, "Sensei what is going on?"

He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry Sakura, I was going to take you guys upstairs to do introductions but it would seem these two have ruined any chance of that happening." He outstretched his hand to her. "My name is Obito Uchiha, I'm the Sensei of Team 7." He said with pride that she felt he had been holding in.

Obito turned to the two bickering Genin, "Naruto, Sasuke, shut up!"

The two stopped and looked to Obito. "Good now I don't think it's worth going through the hassle of a team test so congratulations Team 7. We start training tomorrow!"

As he finished he shunshined out of the room. Sakura turned to the other two, "What is going on?"

Sasuke started, "Obito is mine and Naruto's legal guardian. He's chronically late, and whenever he's pressed about it he either says he was helping some old person or he makes up some ridiculous excuse."

Naruto stepped forward, "Enough about him, Sakura wanna come get lunch just the two of us?" He asked with his eyes closed. When he opened them he couldn't find her.

"She left quickly." Sasuke chuckled. "Come on dobe let's get something to eat."

XXXX

Obito quickly jumped from tree branch to tree branch heading home. He had a massive smile on his face that he was unable to shake, he laughed at the faces the other Jonin made after he demanded his team of Genin. He knew Naruto and Sasuke would be the powerhouses from their generation, Naruto always reminding him of himself, and Sasuke being an eerie comparison to Kakashi.

Obito opened the door to his house, "I'm home!" He said loudly, at first he heard nothing, he instinctively grabbed for a kunai in his pouch his three tomoed Sharingan raging. Suddenly out of the corner of his eye he saw a white surface descend on him but even he was too late as the softness covered him and he was quickly and expertly taken to the ground, his kunai even being kicked out of his hand.

From outside the sheet Obito heard his attacker lean down to whisper in his ear.

"So…" that one word was enough to cause his entire body to relax, "how did the two of them take the news?"

Obito pretended to be muffled by not speaking clearly. The blanket was pulled off his head and staring back at him he saw a big pair of brown eyes looking at him lovingly. He quickly and expertly lunged his head forward stealing a kiss from her.

"Well Rin, Naruto and Sasuke reacted as you'd expect until they started screaming at one another, and the kunoichi on the team well…" He paused trying to find a way to properly word what he was going to say next.

His wife raises her eyebrow suspiciously. "Well?" She asked,

The solution finally coming to him. "Their team is just like ours." He said with a big smile, unfortunately for him his smile was so big his eyes were closed and he didn't see the spark of anger cross her features.

"The comparisons for the two knuckleheads are clear," She started in a demanding tone, "then the Kunoichi would be like me. Why was it so hard to think of something to describe her then?"

Obito deadpanned terrified about what might happen next when the door opened followed by Naruto and Sasuke. "Oh look the boys are home." Obito said quickly standing up and beside the two of them.

Sasuke looked at Obito suspiciously, then looked at Rin seeing her slightly seething, seeing a way for the person he saw more or less as a replacement older brother he needed to get out of trouble he spoke up. "Naruto tried to ask out Sakura again but she just walked away."

Rin quickly relaxed her stature and looked at Naruto carefully. "You ok?" She asked in her big sister voice.

'Perfect', Obito and Sasuke thought to themselves.

Naruto looked at Sasuke and Obito, then he turned to Rin. "Well it's nothing new." He said confused as to why Sasuke brought it up.

Rin quickly pulled Naruto into a hug and walked him into the kitchen most likely to make him something to eat.

Obito chuckled, "I owe you one there Sasuke."

"Hn," Was Sasuke's only reply as he followed into the kitchen as well.

XXXX

Obito slowly realized that it was morning, he started to sit up realizing the weight of his wife on his shoulder. Using every bit of ninja training he possessed he tried to slip out from under her. He looked at the clock seeing that she still did not have to be at the hospital for a few hours he decided to just let her sleep.

As he dressed himself Obito looked at the picture he had on his dresser, it was the picture of the former Team Minato. The photo rarely failed to let him smile at the memories of his former team. He shrugged off the bad memories that threatened to surface.

Obito walked out of his bedroom and saw that Sasuke was already up sipping on some tea studying what Obito assumed was an Uchiha scroll. Being the only two remaining Uchiha Obito inherited the entirety of their wealth and resources but put nearly all of it away until Sasuke was old enough to claim it himself.

Noticing Obito walk into the room Sasuke said, "The Dobe is still sleeping, I tried waking him up but whenever I moved him to try and wake him up he would moan and say 'Sakura'." He shivered, "Decided to let him be after that."

Obito smiled pouring himself a glass of tea, usually Naruto woke up the same time every day, rarely was it ever a serious problem because Naruto trained more than anyone else in the house so he was often the first one up.

Obito realized Sasuke was up this early because of his nerves, "You sleep at all last night Sasuke?" Obito asked worried about what was essentially one of his little brothers.

"Couple hours," Sasuke shrugged not looking away from his scroll hoping Obito didn't mention the nightmares that Sasuke often had. He knew that everyone in the house knew about them when he woke up one night with all of them already in his room checking to see if he was ok.

Obito nodded, knowing that when it came to Sasuke prying rarely worked and Naruto was the only one able to get him to talk that way.

Speaking of, Naruto lazed into the room yawning with his headband on in a crooked manner that was covering his left eye. Obito averted his gaze from that, unfortunately Sasuke the ever observant one noticed.

"Naruto fix your headband, you're a ninja now." Sasuke said before a devious smile graced his lips, "Seeing that I'm sure Sakura wouldn't even dream of going out with you." He paused to take a sip of tea seeing his friend fume, "Maybe I could take her off your hands."

"That's it!" Naruto screamed lunging at Sasuke. Upon hitting his surrogate brother, he realized what he was wrestling to the ground was just a log. "When did he?" Naruto asked to no in particular and he heard the laughing coming from outside.

Naruto quickly chased after Sasuke. "Once you catch him meet me at the meeting spot!" Obito yelled as they ran off.

XXXX

Naruto and Sasuke ran from rooftop to rooftop both trying to gain the lead on the other, while Naruto seemed to have Sasuke beat in terms of speed, Sasuke far surpassed Naruto in grace and agility.

XXXX

Sakura was leaning against a tree waiting for her team to arrive when she felt the surging chakra quickly approaching and moments later heard the thump of one of her teammates sliding onto the ground and the tap, tap of the other landing on his feet.

"Who won Sakura?" Naruto excitedly asked seeing his crush, he felt his stomach flutter and his chest get tight.

Sakura realized that not only was Naruto waiting for an answer but so was Sasuke, "Uh, I wasn't paying attention." Her response earned a groan from both her teammates. Sakura wondered to herself what she gotten herself into?

XXXX

Obito sat in his home reading over the scroll Sasuke had been studying, he thought it was interesting to see Sasuke's constant desire to learn lightning style jutsus even with his natural talent for fire.

Rin walked into the dining room rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Where are the boys?" She asked before her eyes snapped open. "You aren't going to make them wait are you?" She asked with the tough look she knew her husband had no way of resisting.

"A ninja needs to learn patience darling." Obito said trying to squirm his way out of "The Look".

Realizing Obito was fully dressed she pointed to the door. "Go, you signed up for this remember."

Obito stood up realizing she was right, she kept "The Look" on him the entire time, he walked over to her and held her for a moment before placing a kiss on her forehead.

Rin giggled to herself and before she knew it Obito was gone. "That's what I thought." She said laughing to herself as she started her morning routine. "Poor Sakura. Maybe she can get the two younger ones to mature, Kami knows the Big Baby never will."

XXXX

Naruto was sitting next to Sasuke who was asleep against a tree. Naruto knew about Sasuke's nightmares so whenever safe Naruto would let Sasuke sleep and he would watch over him just in case.

Sakura was able to notice this interaction even in the academy. Seeing the two like this wasn't uncommon, especially during break time, if Sasuke slept Naruto wouldn't leave his side.

She quietly scooted next to Naruto about to inquire about why that happened when Obito appeared near them. "Well hello my little Genin. Are we ready to get started on our first mission?" Obito asked with a big smile on his face.

Naruto lightly shoved Sasuke to wake him, "You bet Sensei!" Naruto beamed.

 **AN: I'm currently revising the older chapters. Having finished part one yesterday now seemed to be the right time. 10/28/16**


	2. The Lives We Live

Team 7 stood in the Hokage's office and Naruto seemed to be covered in scratches and was mumbling something about a stupid cat.

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Team 7 with a smile on his face, he remembered back to when he first read Obito's team requests.

XXXX

 _"_ _You cannot be serious Obito." Hiruzen said eyeing the Jonin in front of him. "You want the three most promising members of their class, I have to decline your offer. It also does not help that you are the guardian of two of these boys, it would not be fair to Sakura to do this." He spoke in his professor voice wondering if the Uchiha had a proper rebuttal._

 _"_ _Lord Hokage," Obito began "I choose these three for specific reasons." Hiruzen nodded for Obito to go on. "Sasuke will in time awaken his Sharingan and I am the only person in the village able to teach him." Hiruzen nodded at his logic._

 _"_ _Naruto is the container of the Nine Tails and history has shown us that the Sharingan is a useful tool in calming the beast should the seal begin to slip."_

 _Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, "And what of Haruno, she is the top Kunoichi of her class, I had hoped she would be well paired with Kurenai because of her abilities in chakra control may make her a potential genjutsu user."_

 _Obito smiled for the briefest moment happy the Hokage had fallen into his trap. "Her chakra control is exactly why she would be best paired on my team. Rin Uchiha is easily the greatest medical shinobi since your student Tsunade Senju, I believe Sakura would make a greater contribution as a healer rather than a genjutsu user. In addition, her logical mind will help to balance the admittedly hot tempers of the boys."_

 _Hiruzen let his tough Hokage face relax into that of the caring grandfather. "Well done Obito, your talent for politics has not dulled in recent years." Obito relaxed and smiled at the compliment. "I will approve your team request but I will expect results from them. If I feel that you favor either of the boys instead of Haruno I will relieve you of your command." He said maintaining his smile but using a stronger tone of voice._

XXXX

Hiruzen smiled at the team in front of them. Aside from Naruto being covered in scratches the team seemed to be the model for what all Genin teams should be. He smiled thinking back to his own team, if Jiraiya and Orochimaru had been able to function the way Naruto and Sasuke did perhaps things would have turned out differently. Looking at Obito Hiruzen was sure that he thought the same thing of his old team.

Hiruzen looked at his papers and spoke, "I seem to have another D ranked mission ready at…"

"No more D Ranks!" Naruto shouted, "Give us a challenge for once!"

Sakura gawked at her teammate for screaming at the Hokage like that. She quickly pulled him into a headlock to shut him up.

The look of bliss was not missed by either Uchiha. "With all due respect Lord Hokage I do think my team could be ready for something more." Obito spoke ready at any minute to make his case.

"Damnit Obito," Hiruzen spoke, "Were you not a ninja you could've made a very annoying lawyer." Obito smiled at the compliment knowing the Hokage was about to oblige his request.

"We did receive a C Ranked mission earlier today." Hiruzen said readying the file he had off to the side. Both Uchiha noticed that the file seemed to be separate from the others as if it were waiting. "Unlike most missions," He explained to the Genin, "this mission has no one client. This mission is a direct order from the village. You all will be travelling to the Village Hidden in the Grass to deliver a treaty paper." He said extending his arm holding the scroll which contained the treaty which Obito took. "I am trusting your political mind Obito to be able to handle anything that may happen. I am granting you the authority to negotiate with their leader."

Obito nodded as his team was dismissed he waited until he and Hiruzen were the only two left in the room. "Lord Hokage, treaty negotiations are at the very least an A rank mission that could border on S. Why send a team of Genin?"

Hiruzen sighed, "Obito I am not going to lie to you." He said as he took off his hat. "I am not as young as I once was and I want to someday retire. And you have shown great promise to one day inherit my position." Obito was shocked to hear that, "Also sending the team you are a part of on a political mission I want you to watch them to see if any of them show an aptitude for it."

Obito nodded, "Understood Lord Hokage." Obito then bowed and left.

XXXX

Outside the Genin team walked out and realized their sensei had stayed in the office. Naruto was still beaming from the close contact from Sakura who he had followed with hearts in his eyes.

Sasuke stopped and waited. "Obito Sensei must have a question about the mission." Sasuke said crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

Naruto looked at Sakura with his cheeks blushing, "Hey Sakura don't worry I'll protect you on this mission if anything happens."

Sakura closed her eyes and stuck her nose in the air, "I won't need protecting Naruto, I'm just as much a ninja as you and Sasuke are."

Naruto slumped a bit, "Well ok," he quickly perked back up, "Maybe if we have any free time in Grass the two of us could go on a date." He said flashing her a big smile.

Naruto quickly reached into his pocket where he had a small sealing scroll. He unsealed the contents and handed it to Sakura, it was a bright pink flower. "Rin says girls like getting flowers." He said trying to explain the reason for his actions.

Sakura was taken back from Naruto's gesture; no boy had ever given her flowers. She always blamed her big forehead for that. Ino was always the one that got them causing her to feel pangs of jealousy from her friend. But here was a boy giving her a single flower that matched the shade of her hair perfectly.

"Thank you Naruto." She said gingerly taking the flower and tucking it behind her ear.

Sasuke smiled and noticed Obito next to him silently pumping his fist. If Sasuke had to guess it would be a long time before Naruto stopped smiling.

Obito finally spoke up with a smile on his face, "Alright Team 7 we leave tomorrow morning on our first mission out of the village. Let's go home for some dinner," Obito had a mischievous smirk, "Sakura you are welcome to join us I believe Rin should be off by now."

Sakura smiled, "That sounds great, thank you Obito Sensei."

XXXX

Team 7 walked through the door with a small army of Naruto's carrying the bags of take out. "Rin we got dinner!" Obito shouted not sure where she was.

Rin walked out of the living room looking tired. Her eyes lit up seeing Sakura with the flower tucked behind her ear. "Hello again Sakura, that's a pretty flower. Did a boy give it to you?"

Sasuke chuckled at the antics of his guardian. And saw the smile on Naruto's face had only brightened.

"Naruto gave it to me Lady Rin." Sakura said slightly blushing.

XXXX

During dinner the group all talked and joked about Tora the cat and how difficult catching her always is.

It did not take long before Naruto was out like a light sleeping next to Sasuke, who stayed by Naruto the same way Naruto watched over him. Shortly after Obito carried Naruto to bed and Sasuke went into his own room nodding a good night to Sakura.

Curious with what she witnessed she spoke up to Rin who was still at the table, "Lady Rin why whenever Naruto or Sasuke sleep the other one stays so close to them.

Rin shocked by the question almost dropped the glass she was drinking from before sighing. "I see you noticed that." Sakura nodded. "Neither of them have had the best time growing up. When Naruto was just a baby and before he came to live with us a group of villagers broke into the orphanage he was in. And…" she paused trembling with anger, "They marked him."

Sakura tilted her head, "What do you mean marked him?"

Rin sighed refusing to meet the girls gaze. And not finding the words until Obito spoke up when he entered the room. "They cut the scars on his cheeks." He said with a cold distant voice.

Sakura gasped and covered her mouth. "Why would someone do something so terrible to a child?"

Obito again spoke up sitting beside Rin who refused to look up, "Naruto was born the same night the Kyuubi attacked the village. Some in the village believe Naruto to be the beast forced into a mortal body. So they marked him so wherever he went people would notice."

Obito continued, "When Naruto first came to live with us there was rarely a night where someone didn't come to harass or threaten us for protecting Naruto. One time when he was three Naruto got away from me when I took him to the market," Obito said coldly, also avoiding Sakura's gaze, "He ended up attracting a mob who began to chase him, if it weren't for an Anbu agent Weasel, Naruto would have been killed. The truth is Sakura." Obito said judging the girl and wondering how trust worthy she was, he decided that he might as well tell her. "Naruto is the jinchuuriki for the Nine Tailed Fox."

Sakura was nearly in tears at this point, "What about Sasuke?"

Obito subconsciously activated his Sharingan, "Our entire clan was killed by Sasuke's older brother. And Sasuke relives that night often in his nightmares so he rarely sleeps well at night. Most of the time he just goes into his room and studies, but because of this from time to time he will fall asleep during the day. Naruto always makes sure that Sasuke doesn't have a nightmare then."

Sakura was silently crying at this point, "I had no idea they went through all that."

Obito visibly relaxed and his Sharingan disappeared. "I'm only telling you this because you are their teammate, I hope you keep these details to yourself." Obito said with a kind look in his eyes.

Sakura nodded with a determined look, "I will Sensei."

Obito smiled at the Kunoichi of his team. "You can stay here in the guest room if you want or I can walk you home."

"Thank you Sensei but I think I need some time alone to think." Sakura said dismissing herself from the house and closing the door behind herself.

Obito rubbed Rin's back before pulling her closer to himself, "You gonna be good?" He asked.

"Yes, I just hate thinking about the pasts those two have lived." Rin said.


	3. A Mission of Fate

The next day the Genin of Team 7 waited by the gate for their Sensei.

Sasuke stood off to the side lost in his thoughts, Naruto was mumbling to himself about a late sensei, and Sakura was observing her two teammates. She didn't know anyone who had been through more than the two of them, she was just grateful that Obito Sensei and Lady Rin were so nice to them.

Obito arrived directly in front of Naruto scaring him. "And why were you late this time Sensei?" Naruto asked angrily.

"I saw an old lady who couldn't get her door open with her groceries in her hands, so after helping her in the house I helped her put them all away. I'm not that late am I?"

"Only half an hour this time luckily Sensei." Sasuke said walking over to his brothers.

Naruto looked over at Sakura who watched the interaction, "You ready Sakura?" Naruto asked with a big smile.

Seeing his big smile Sakura blushed a bit but she was not sure why. "Yeah Naruto. Lead the way Obito Sensei."

XXXX

That night Team 7 sat in front of a fire that Sasuke had breathed to life. Sakura had sat herself closer to Naruto than usual and both Uchiha noticed, but of course Naruto only saw it as her sitting next to him, not the fact that she was slowly inching closer. Sasuke was intently listening for the attackers that could descend on them at any moment.

Part of him feared his brother would be one of them, another part of him wanted his brother to come, he knew Itachi was strong but Obito managed to get away with barely a scratch the night of the Massacre so he was confident that if Itachi came now Sasuke and his team could take him.

Naruto was giddy that Sakura was sitting next to him, but he knew he needed to try and keep his cool so he picked up a leaf and began to use wind chakra to make it bounce up and down on his hand.

Sakura just watched Naruto do his weird chakra exercise inching closer to him every few moments, she began to look at his cheeks now curious why she never really paid attention to the scars on them. Naruto never really made a big deal about getting hurt in the academy. The only time he had a real reaction was when he was trying to learn how to throw a kunai around a corner he sliced his hand open, he said it hurt and held his hand, but Sasuke reacted more than Naruto did just bandaging it up quickly.

She realized they only survived this well because they were together. She looked over at Sasuke and thought about how he felt with all but one of his clan members being killed by his own brother. His mother, his father, any other friends he had that were Uchiha, all gone.

And Obito Sensei the man that took the both of them into his own home and practically raised them. She almost felt like the outsider in the group because of how close the other three already were.

What Sakura did not notice was the only way she could get closer to Naruto was if she was in his lap, they were leg to leg on the log they had been sitting on. Feeling this Naruto looked at her and froze. The reflection of the flames dancing in her eyes was captivating, all his ambition every desire he had to become Hokage, to fight alongside Sasuke against Itachi, it was all gone. He just focused on her eyes, he just wanted to look into them forever, but he didn't like the look of sadness they had.

Naruto hesitantly reached his arm around Sakura, once his hand came to rest on her shoulder she startled out of her train of thought. She saw the smile on her teammates face, it wasn't that big toothy one he gave everyone, this one seemed to be just for her, she tried to hide her blush.

"You gonna kiss her?" Obito asked mere inches away from their faces. They screamed because they did not know he was there. "Now Naruto, you know what Rin said if you got anyone pregnant."

Naruto's eyes doubled in size as his arms were immediately covering his crotch.

Sasuke laughed to himself looking at his teammates antics. 'Maybe something will happen with those two.' He thought to himself, he was glad for that interruption to knock him out of his thoughts. "Obito Sensei I will take the first watch all of you better get some rest."

Obito stood up and was immediately in sensei mode again. "Alright Sasuke, wake me up in four hours." Obito said before turning to the blushing members of his team. "You two best get some sleep too." He started to walk away before running back, "In different tents." He said with a stern voice that left no room for arguments.

XXXX

The next morning Team 7 continued to move, Sasuke maintained his steely demeanor that was brought upon from his nightmares, he could tell Naruto knew because when he woke up in a cold sweat Naruto was already sitting up in the tent in a watching position. Sasuke wouldn't admit it but he could never tell Naruto how much that meant to him. Since that night Sasuke felt like he could defend himself from anything, until he fell asleep, in his dreams he was not a shinobi of Team 7. He was still that little boy who had to watch his family be killed over and over again.

Naruto bounced from tree to tree he couldn't remember a time where he felt this elated, last night he held Sakura in his arm, she didn't push off of him or anything this mission was going to be awesome.

XXXX

Team 7 saw the village ahead and Obito spoke up. "When we are in the village the three of you need to behave, remember above all else this is a diplomatic mission."

"Aye Sensei." They all responded showing their understanding.

XXXX

Over the next few weeks of delegations Obito had the genin on shifts to be in the meetings with him, Sasuke more or less didn't pay attention. Sakura took fervent notes on every detail of the meeting. Naruto on the other hand Obito felt was the most interesting, Naruto seemed to watch the other delegates rather than the actual proceedings.

XXXX

The sun peeked into Naruto's room and rested on his face, he groggily sat up from his bed and saw Sasuke awake and looking out the window at the sun. "It's their every morning you know teme." Naruto said.

"Doesn't mean I don't like watching it dobe." Sasuke said without looking at Naruto.

The door started being banged on, "Wake up you boys," the word boys had a certain venom to it. "Obito Sensei wants us ready!" They could hear Sakura shouting from the other side of the door.

"Be right out Sakura." Naruto said, even through the door she could hear his smile.

"Baka." She said under her breath walking away.

"I approve Naruto." Sasuke said with a smirk on his face as he picked up Naruto's orange jacket and pants and threw them at his brother's face. "Get dressed quickly or I may start flirting with your girl." Sasuke said stepping out the door, he could hear Naruto fumbling around trying to get dressed quickly.

XXXX

Obito could feel the chakra spike in the distance, whoever it was, was trying to lure Obito out. He could recognize the chakra, but it felt different. "There's no way in hell." He said to himself activating his Sharingan. "Team 7 with me!" He barked in full ninja mode, it took a mere moment for them to be in their prime formation, Obito up front, Sasuke to his immediate left, Sakura behind him, and Naruto pulling the right flank.

XXXX

Obito led his team to a tree line and saw what he had feared, there in front of him stood a woman with long black hair with a masked man next to her.

"Ah you brought me both the Uchiha with that chakra spike my dear Dog." The grass ninja said.

"Cut the bullshit Orochimaru, I know it's you; Lord Jiraiya trained me on your abilities." Obito spat staring ahead at his opponents.

"Ku, ku, ku Obito, my how you've grown from that foolish little boy who had vowed to stop me." Orochimaru said with a slight hiss to his voice. "I hadn't expected you to be foolish enough to bring your Genin all the way out here. But I will take advantage of that, I no longer have to hunt that sweet little body Young Sasuke has."

Obito's eyes went wide his Sharingan not hesitating for a moment. "Touch him and you have no idea the hell that will be rained down upon you." Obito seethed for a moment, "The Uchiha will have blood for blood." He always hated that saying but he knew Orochimaru would understand the point."

Orochimaru smiled before slightly gesturing with his hand. "The masked ninja next to him lunged at Obito, within a moment they were face to face, both of their kunais nearly exploded from the force behind the attack.

Orochimaru followed up that attack by going for the genin, he went for the lethal blow on Sakura, from her positioning he could tell she was the team medic, kill support and the team falls apart. Even Orochimaru knew that the Three Sannin would never have been as famous as they were if not for Tsunade.

Before he could blink there was a blue sandal in his face redirecting his lunge into the trunk of a tree which he recovered from looking at his attacker. "Touch Sakura and Obito Sensei won't have the chance to make good on his words." Naruto said his bright blue eyes replaced by the bloody crimson of Kyuubi.

Sasuke quickly stood beside Naruto, the young medic was standing behind them waiting to heal any injuries. "Naruto." Sasuke said to get his attention, "Remember how Obito said he and his teammate beat a stronger opponent?" It wasn't a question, Naruto and Sasuke had been practicing this style of combat since Obito told them this story years ago.

The two jumped as one, Orochimaru saw that Sasuke was going for the leg sweep so he jumped to get out of it, but he was shocked to see Naruto's fist approaching his head. If not for his bodily modifications allowing him to bend in inhuman ways that blow would have landed.

XXXX

Obito struggled with the movements of his opponent, his Sharingan only managing to even the field, every few moments Obito would get a glimpse inside the mask of the ninja and see a black eye staring back at him. Only seeing one eye was more than enough to confirm his theory.

XXXX

Orochimaru was surprised by the teamwork these two genin possessed, the only teamwork at this level at their age was only ever found in siblings. And like that a plan formed in Orochimaru's mind, he knew how he would claim his prize. Orochimaru snapped his thumb in a sight that almost got the two boys off guard, when suddenly the ninja who was fighting Obito appeared in an instant about to impale Naruto with the dancing electricity surrounding his hand.

It was mere inches away from killing Naruto when a hand caught the wrist of the masked man, Sasuke stared at the attacker with hate in his eyes, his Sharingan now activated. Orochimaru saw the moment he had set up and bent in his snake like way and sunk his fangs into Sasuke's neck.

The lightning in the masked ninjas hand died, "No!" Obito yelled landing in between the attackers and his genin smacking Orochimaru's head away with his foot. Obito quietly seethed for a moment, he didn't realize right away that Naruto was standing over him and Sasuke with Sakura checking over her injured teammate.

"What did you do to him?" Naruto screamed, his hair appearing to be mangier as a malevolent chakra wafted off of him, making Sakura freeze in her motions.

Sakura knew of the Kyuubi inside of Naruto and didn't care she understood the way a jinchuuriki functioned. But feeling the power on Naruto made her genuinely terrified for a moment, but it wasn't fear for her own life, she feared for Naruto's.

"Obito Sensei." Sakura said trying to get his attention. "I have him, help Naruto." She said in her best doctor voice.

Obito silently stood and stared down the Snake Sannin. "You better work fast because The Uchiha will have your blood." It was not a statement that could be denied or argued with even by Orochimaru, he knew what he had just done was exceedingly risky but he had to take a chance.

Orochimaru smiled, "Come Dog we have accomplished our mission." The two disappeared in a shunshin.

Naruto whipped around without hesitation kneeling next to his brother. "Sasuke." He almost whispered seemingly drained of all the fight he had.

"He seems fine physically but his chakra is all messed up." Sakura said looking at Naruto and their Sensei who was still staring off into the distance.

"We are going home now." Obito said in his Sensei voice. "Naruto get yours and Sasuke's things and be ready to leave in half an hour, we are going full speed back to the village, we don't have any time for stops." Obito said picking up Sasuke in his arms before disappearing.

Sakura looked at her blond teammate the mixture of emotions going through him now, a clear mixture of anger, fear, sadness. "Sasuke will be fine Naruto." Sakura said trying to console her teammate.


	4. Feel My Pain

Obito stood in front of the Hokage alone. He had left his team behind at the hospital.

Hiruzen stared down the Jonin in front of him, "And you are absolutely sure it was Orochimaru?"

Obito nodded, "The way he moved and fought it was unmistakably him. I warned him what could happen for marking Sasuke and he knew what I meant."

Hiruzen gave a long sigh. "And our agreement with Grass?"

"At the point our talks had reached we had all but signed, I made their leaders aware of the situations with the genin and they were very receptive of the recess." Obito said with his hands behind his back.

"Well it is clear from what has happened that at the moment I cannot let your genin team complete this mission a member down, who would you recommend to take the place?"

"Team 10." Obito said without hesitation. Hiruzen showed a hint of surprise that few would be able to notice.

"And why is that Obito?" He asked now curious to hear the reasoning made.

"With all due respect Lord Hokage, I feel you never gave Asuma the credit he is due from his name alone. Out of the current Jonin Sensei's he is easily the most recognizable by his name. Not to mention his team consists of the future heads of three of the major clans of the Leaf. The Nara have always been famed for their intellect, the Akimichi for their brute strength which is rivaled by few, and the Yamanaka are feared because of the lack of defense against the Mind Transfer jutsu."

Hiruzen nodded, after hearing Obito's reasoning he knew he would not be able to argue with him. "Fine I will send Team 10 in place of Team 7 to complete this mission. Dismissed Obito."

Obito bowed and turned on his heel before looking over his shoulder, "We both know calling him is our best chance." With that Obito left.

Sarutobi knew Obito was right, hell the boy was rarely wrong about anything. But his other students were never easy to get a hold of, Jiraiya was always somewhere in the world 'researching', Tsunade was no better off somewhere gambling and drinking away every dime she had. He always regretted his failures with his team, it was part of the reason he had such high hopes for every new generation.

XXXX

Obito walked through the halls of the hospital on his way to the sealing ward where Sasuke was being analyzed. Luckily they had called in an expert on this particular seal.

Obito saw Naruto and Sakura sitting outside a door, "You guys need to get some sleep." Obito said in his big brother voice rather than his sensei one.

Sakura looked up at her sensei and could see the worry and fear in his eyes. "Naruto refuses to leave, he tried to get into the sealing room but that one lady stopped him."

Naruto kept his gaze on the ground refusing to make eye contact with anyone, Sakura's hand resting on Naruto's was not something Obito missed, if even that was not enough to knock him out of his funk he didn't know what could.

Obito looked at Naruto again with stern eyes, "Naruto I need you to go home and get some rest, Rin has some food at home for you to eat, you're no good to Sasuke sleep deprived. Once this is done I will take Sasuke home and I will wake you up I promise."

Naruto nodded keeping his eyes glued to the ground as he walked off his hand being held by Sakura as he left but the connection was severed after two steps of her not following. Sakura looked up at Obito, "Sensei are you alright?"

Obito looked at her trying to cover up the emotions his face was showing. "I don't have time to not be Sakura, now you need to get home yourself, understood?"

Sakura stood up, "Aye Sensei." She walked off worried about her team.

XXXX

Obito sat for a while longer and saw the light flash from the door windows followed by a loud scream that Obito was able to tell was Sasuke's. He knew that after the flash it was safe for him to enter.

Obito opened the door and saw Sasuke lying in the middle of a room with a bright light shining over his head. Anko Mitarashi kneeled beside him turning to look at Obito entering the room. "Kid's going to be fine, he will feel very drained for a while. Might wake up in a few hours. Remember Obito this sealing only holds if he wants it to."

Obito picked his brother up in his arms. "Thank you Anko. Hopefully life can go on like normal now."

Anko winced, "You know that it can't. Orochimaru never does something without a reason, from what the other brat told me it sounded like marking Sasuke was the goal all along."

Obito continued to walk, "Thank you Anko."

"Any time Uchiha."

XXXX

Obito laid Sasuke onto his bed and turned around to see Rin in the door. She turned away walking to their room, he knew what it meant.

Rin opened their bedroom door and sat on the bed leaving it open for her husband to enter. She sat on her bed and saw him enter the room shutting the door behind himself.

Obito sat on the bed next to her taking his headband off before throwing it at the wall.

Rin went slack jaw for a moment, Obito may react randomly to things but he would never throw that headband.

"He was there Rin. I fought him. It felt like old times but it didn't." Obito said looking at his own hands shaking.

Rin put her arms around Obito without hesitation. Obito began to silently sob trying to hold it in. "Hey," she started, "It's not good to hide your wounds. You know I'm always watching."

Hearing that Obito's silent sobs became full blown crying. "First that monster took Kakashi and now he's trying to take Sasuke. I could never live with myself Rin if something happened to him." Obito laid his head in her lap and continued to cry.

Rin held him as well as she could in that position. "Obito I've known you a long time, and I know, the boys know it, hell I bet even that snake bastard knows that Obito Uchiha will do absolutely anything to protect his friends."

Rin looked down and noticed that Obito was asleep. With some effort she laid him out on their bed so he could get some sleep. She quickly took off all of his armor and left him in just the black outfit that he normally wears and took his scarf up wrapping it up. She then picked up the headband from the ground. Putting it on top of the scarf.

Rin walked out of the room and opened the door and saw Naruto looking up at her with a confused look on his face.

Without taking a breath Naruto began, "Is Sasuke ok? I heard crying, is Obito ok? Do I need to wake Sasuke? Do we need more ninja? Should I get Sakura? Who is Kakashi?"

The last question caught Rin off guard, she had told Naruto and Sasuke a long time ago not to listen to her and Obito when they were in their bedroom, partially so they could have time to themselves, but mostly so the boys didn't hear any adult things.

"Obito is just exhausted Naruto just like Sasuke. We don't need any more ninja right now." She stopped to think for a moment then walked past Naruto gesturing for him to follow. She led him to the table they all kept photos. She looked at the photo of Team 7, Naruto stood beaming in happiness of being put on this team. She saw the picture of the first day Naruto and Sasuke started school, their birthdays over the years. But she picked up a different photo and handed it to Naruto.

Rin started to explain, "Naruto this is the genin team Obito and I were on. You already know that is Minato Sensei the man who would become the Fourth Hokage." She grimaced for a moment but she didn't think Naruto noticed, "That goofball is Obito of course and I'm that happy one." She said with a laugh.

Naruto nodded along following her, he never really bothered thinking too much about their genin team.

"And that," she pointed to a silver haired ninja wearing a mask, "is Kakashi Hatake, son of the White Fang of the Leaf, and remarkable ninja in his own right."

Naruto looked at the other ninja in the photo, "What happened to him?" He looked up at Rin and saw the faraway look in her eye.

XXXX

 _The Former Team Minato took their positions outside of Orochimaru's hideout. The Third Hokage had left them behind so he and a select few Anbu could confront him. Their job was to make sure no one went in after him._

 _Kakashi watched the door with his remaining good eye his scarred eye covered by his headband. "Obito keep your Sharingan active." Kakashi said._

 _"_ _Obito keep your Sharingan active." Obito said in a mocking tone. "No one made you team leader Kakashi, we're all Jonin now."_

 _Rin was about to stop their bickering before she spotted Orochimaru running out of his hideout._

 _Kakashi did a quick group of hand signs and his hand became surrounded by bright blue lightning. The lightning seemed to chirp and shift with Kakashi. He stood up and slowly walked up to where Orochimaru watched him._

 _Kakashi charged forward, "Lightning blade!" He exclaimed aiming his hand directly at Orochimaru's heart. But he simply ducked out of the way and was about to slice at Kakashi's torso when his kunai was blocked by another. He looked at the wielder and saw a blue clad shinobi with goggles on his forehead; and staring back at him were blood red Sharingan._

 _"_ _Ah would you just look at the power of those eyes, it allowed a reject like you to stop me from killing my prey." Orochimaru said before his neck seemed to move in a snake like manner. "I must have them!" He shouted launching himself at Obito._

 _Obito froze feeling the killer intent aimed at him, but he felt himself pushed, he looked and saw Kakashi now where he was but Orochimaru's jaw clenched down on Kakashi's neck._

 _Kakashi let loose a scream that his teammates never imagined him to be capable of._

 _Releasing his jaw Orochimaru watched Kakashi slump down on the ground. "Damn it, only had one of those ready. Oh well I may not possess your Sharingan Student of the Fourth. But I will possess that power someday." Orochimaru walked away slowly taking his time._

XXXX

Naruto stared at Rin as she told him of the day their teammate changed. "So that's why he wants Sasuke? He didn't try to bite him until it activated when Sasuke saved me." After hearing himself say that Naruto snapped up looking at Rin. "It's because of me, isn't it?"

Rin saw Naruto's mind going down a very dangerous path. She kneeled down to make eye contact with the blond boy who was just seconds away from a mental breakdown. "No Naruto it's not your fault." She laughed to herself, "Between the three of you boys, any one of you would do something stupid for the other."

Naruto looked into Rin's eyes and saw the kindness in them. He leaned in to hug her, "Thank you Rin. I don't think I say it enough. I owe you and Obito Sensei my life, and Sasuke may be too proud to admit it but so does he."

Rin just closed her eyes enjoying the closeness she was feeling. These moments were few and far between. She loved Sasuke but there was just something about Naruto that made her smile, maybe it was how he still maintained the good qualities from his parents. His mother's compassion, his father's drive to protect. She just longed for the day when she could tell Naruto who his parents were.

She quickly realized that Naruto had fallen asleep in her arms. She stifled a laugh before lifting him up and carrying him to his room and laying him down in his bed.

She made her way back to the living room and relaxed for a moment. She looked out the window at the village she called home. The village she once swore to protect, she had only stopped being a ninja after her and Obito adopted Naruto, after he was in the academy she got her job back at hospital but she still had no real desire to wear the headband again. She knew deep down that if things got bad enough she wouldn't hesitate to rejoin the ninja in a crisis. She only prayed that one would never find them.

XXXX

At the village gates a trio approached the gate. The man with red hair was clearly on guard. The eternal gate keepers Izumo and Kotetsu noticed his behavior. And then noticed that they were in a three-man squad ninja formation that was often used during the Third Great Ninja War, famously used by the Sanin.

Izumo stepped forward, "Hello and welcome to the Leaf village!" He said in his best attempt at sounding disarming. He never wanted to get into a fight here, because if someone was able to start a fight here alone they were going to be trouble.

The man with orange hair stepped forward. "We have come with clearance; we need to see the Hokage right away."

Kotetsu looked over the papers his eyes bulging seeing the signature on their papers. "At once." He then gave a signal to tell the ANBU watching the gate that the newcomers were not threats but needed guides.

The ANBU dropped 10 feet away from the newcomers, the red haired man quickly took up a combat stance. "Calm down Nagato. This man is just going to guide us." The orange haired man said smiling.

"Yahiko is right." The blue haired woman said next to Nagato. "Making a scene here would only hurt our cause."

XXXX

Hiruzen had just about enough of this village being exciting. In front of him stood the self-proclaimed Team Jiraiya, the leaders of the rebel group Akatsuki. He knew from Jiraiya's reports that the three of them were a true force to reckoned with.

"This deal you are proposing is a very interesting one. It will take some time for me to reach a decision regarding this, not to mention that I must meet with my council about this." Hiruzen watching the three of them. They all stood with the same confidence making it difficult to tell which of them was the strongest.

But Hiruzen had not forgotten his cheat sheet that Jiraiya had given him. "Nagato," He started looking directly at the red head. "I have no issue with the three of you being in my village but I do ask that you avoid using your unique talents unless necessary."

Nagato nodded, smiling slightly. "That should not be a problem Lord Hokage."

XXXX

Obito woke up and realized he was in his bed. It was late at night that much he could tell. Rin was in the bed with him as well, but the coming summer months made it so that she didn't even want to touch him. He was able to get out of bed without moving her.

He walked into the living room letting out a big yawn and he saw Sasuke sitting in the bay window looking at the moon.

"Can we just pretend everything is normal for a bit Obito?" He asked without looking away.

Obito chuckled a bit, "No problem. But tomorrow you know Rin is going to chew your ear off with medical questions."

Sasuke let out his typical grunt. "I know. I assume the rest of them are ok. I already checked on Naruto and he was comically sprawled on his bed."

Obito sat beside Sasuke, "He's that way because of you, you know?"

"He would do the same for me." Sasuke said finally looking at Obito.

"Yeah, you're right." Obito said, "You're both idiots." Sasuke gave an angry look at Obito. "I mean that in a good way. I mean the smart move would be to use that opportunity to kill the enemy while they were distracted. But you decided that protecting your teammate was more important."

Sasuke looked down in shame, "So you're saying the mission failed because of me?"

Obito leaned against the wall, "That is exactly what I'm saying." Sasuke grimaced at that, "I've also never been prouder of you Sasuke."

Sasuke's head snapped up and their black eyes met, "But I ruined everything, we were so close to coming to an agreement with Grass and we had to come home because of me."

Obito chuckled, "He's wrong you know." Sasuke got a perplexed look on his face. "Itachi." Sasuke almost snarled at the mention of that name. "You don't need hatred in order to best him."

Sasuke's eyes widened, "But he said the only way to become as powerful as him was through hate!"

Obito nodded along, "Itachi was always a complicated boy. Even he didn't get to his level of power through hate. He had Shisui, he had Izumi, and he had you. All of those people are the reason he became strong. Not his hatred," Sasuke hadn't realized he was leaning forward until just now. "His love made him strong."

Those words hit Sasuke like a ton of bricks. "Neither you or Naruto would be as gifted as you are if not for the other." Obito continued, "And you know on the day you finally confront Itachi, Team 7 will be there to back you up." Sasuke was about to protest but Obito stopped him. "I don't want to hear it; you will need us whether you like it or not. Plus, I don't even think Madara could stop Naruto from being there for you." He said laughing to yourself.

Obito saw the single tear roll off Sasuke's cheek. "Thank you, for everything." Sasuke said as he turned back to his brother, "I mean it."

Obito laughed, "Hey what is family for?"


	5. An Unorthodox Battle

Sakura was slowly walking to the house where the rest of her teammates lived. She was really worried about Sasuke, she didn't know what to think when Obito had acted the way he did, he was normally such a bright person but the man she saw in that forest was anything but.

She was about to knock on the door when it flew open and she saw Naruto with a mouthful of food. "Sakura!" His muffled voice shouted excitedly.

Her eyebrow twitched at him, "Don't chew with your mouth open baka!" She said as she pushed past him.

Naruto walked behind her smiling until they were sitting in the dining room.

Sakura saw Sasuke sipping tea lost in thought, Obito was half asleep in a very uncomfortable looking position on the bed and Rin was reading through a medical journal.

"Obito Sensei," Sakura said rousing him awake. "Don't we have a mission today?"

Obito blinked the sleep out of his eyes, "Normally we would but because how long we were in Grass, Lord Third has given us some time off. After breakfast though we're all going to train."

Hearing that Rin got excited. "And I'm going to come and help see if I can't teach you some medical techniques Sakura!"

Naruto looked over at Sakura and saw how excited she looked about being trained by Rin. "What's so special about Rin?" Obito's deadpanned about what Naruto was saying. "She's retired anyway; I could probably take her." He chuckled to himself.

Sasuke smiled a plan forming in his mind he looked to Rin for the briefest moments. "Oh really dobe, why don't you prove it than?"

Naruto crossed his arms and huffed, "You just name the place."

Rin silently stood up and walked past Naruto. "Come on then."

Obito was trying his best to hold back the laughter, he hadn't seen anyone fight Rin since Asuma implied that her being a medic made her weak.

XXXX

Naruto and Rin stood 10 feet apart, Naruto was staring daggers at his adoptive sister confident in his own abilities.

"Alright brat," Rin began. "I'm going to beat you with just my finger." She added extending her index finger.

Naruto held his hand out to the side and a swirling mass of chakra slowly began to form in it causing Rin to gasp. Seeing his moment Naruto charged straight forward but right before he got close enough his attack faded but Naruto was already too close to drop out. He brought his other hand up with a kunai to take a swipe at her but Rin was able to disarm him by lacing her finger through the round hole in the kunai and swiped up taking off his headband.

Naruto didn't know what happened next, all of a sudden he was back to where he had started and his head hurt. He looked forward and saw that Rin had her one finger extended and then darkness overcame him and he fell on the ground.

Rin turned on Obito immediately, "Obito!" She yelled stomping over to her husband.

Obito's head darted around but saw that Sasuke and Sakura had left him to try and wake up Naruto. "You taught him Rasengan didn't you!" Rin said more than asked. "Why would you teach that to him now, that would be almost as irresponsible as teaching Sasuke the Chidori.

"He's a Genin. I think he's ready to learn that jutsu." Obito said,

"Minato Sensei didn't even use that until he was nearly Hokage." Rin said with her hands on her hips.

"Minato Sensei would have wanted his so…" he caught himself quickly, "his student's student to carry on his legacy."

Rin and Obito did not realize that Sasuke and Sakura had heard their conversation. They made eye contact briefly before continuing to try and rouse Naruto.

Sasuke looked to see three people walking towards them. He saw they did not have Leaf headbands so his right hand readied to grab his kunai.

Obito stopped mid-sentence sensing the chakra approaching him. He turned to face the new comers. "Yahiko you son of a bitch!" He yelled with little malice in his voice before running toward the trio.

Sasuke grabbed his kunai and stood over the unconscious Naruto and Sakura who was treating him. He quickly relaxed when he saw how Obito wasn't really fighting him, just comically swinging his arms.

Nagato laughed watching his friend goof around with their friend from the Leaf.

Obito was still screaming obscenities at his old friend, "You left me in that old lady's house alone to explain to her that we thought Shelta was one of Hanzo's agents!"

Yahiko laughed, "So what Obito?"

Obito deadpanned at that, "Shelta was her cat!"

Hearing that Nagato fell on the ground holding his stomach laughing.

XXXX

Naruto regained consciousness and saw a pair of green eyes looking into his and a true smile subconsciously came across his face. "A guy could get used to waking up like this." He said blushing.

Sakura reeled away from him quickly, "It's nothing baka I was just making sure you were ok."

Sasuke chuckled, "A little close to his face just for checking pinky." He put his kunai away and sat beside Naruto. "He said his name was Yahiko. Wasn't that the name of one of the rain rebels Obito worked with Naruto?"

Naruto scratched his chin, "I don't remember. He did say the one with red hair would have cool looking eyes."

Team 7 walked up to the Rain trio who were now calmly conversing with Obito and Rin.

"So an alliance between Akatsuki and the Leaf." Obito said mulling the concept over, "I like you guys; potentially we have a lot to gain but it could just end with us at war with Hanzo. And even the Sannin struggle with him alone."

Rin sighed, "And it doesn't help that one of them is a total perv that is gallivanting all over the world searching for beautiful women. The other is a sadistic monster that is just sick. Bless her heart but Lady Tsunade isn't much better than Jiraiya."

Konan's spirits started to die hearing the doubt from her old friends. Until she saw the genin start to approach them watching Nagato.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan to try and catch a glimpse at these eyes that Obito talked about.

Nagato noticed the chakra spike come from Sasuke and turned to look at him smiling. "Cool eyes." He said and opened his eyes wide enough for the kids to see them. "But mine are cooler."

Sakura gasped, "I thought it was just a myth."

Naruto looked at her confused, "What? Is he sick?"

Sakura sighed, "No baka, he has the Rinnegan." Naruto's face held his usual confused expression. "It's the dojutsu that the Sage of Six Paths had baka."

Naruto got excited hearing that, "You mean Grandpa Sage that Rin told me about when I was little?"

"Yes dobe." Sasuke said still looking at Nagato curiously. "So what can you do?"

Nagato chuckled, "Everyone has their secrets."

Naruto laughed at how Sasuke was blown off.


	6. An Evening On The Town

Obito had given the genin the rest of the day off. So Naruto being Naruto asked his question quite loudly. "Sakura; why don't the two of us go and get some lunch?"

Sasuke watched the pink haired kunoichi on his team jokingly ponder it, "Well that sounds like fun Naruto but wouldn't it be rude to just ditch Sasuke?"

Sasuke smiled secretly happy he would be included if he wanted, "Nah you two go have some fun, I'm gonna head home and do some studying." He said waving his hand as he walked away.

Sakura chuckled at her teammate turning back to Naruto, "So I guess if it's just the two of us that makes this a date." As she said it she started blushing.

Naruto nodded excitedly half in shock that this was happening. His dream girl just agreed to go on a date with him. If he was dreaming, he didn't want to wake up.

"I know just the place!" He shouted walking next to her earning a giggle from the pinkette.

XXXX

Sasuke began his walk back home, and as he was walking he passed the Hyuuga compound. On any normal day he would have walked around it. He knew that usually the Hyuuga were incredibly rude to him. He was so lost in thought he didn't see the can hurled at his head.

"What are you doing here Uchiha?" A Hyuuga said to him,

"Just walking." Sasuke said as he turned to continue his walk home.

The Hyuuga had other plans, "People in your family can't come through here. Did you know that?" A sadistic smile crossed his face, "Guess when mommy and daddy are dead they can't tell you these things."

Sasuke's eyes snapped open in shock, which was quickly taken over by rage.

But before he could turn to beat this asshole he heard a familiar voice.

"Hega, what do you think you're doing harassing my comrade?" Sasuke saw that the voice had originated from Hinata Hyuuga the heiress of the clan.

Hega started to stutter, "He's an Uchiha I just thought…"

Hinata cut him off with a chakra spike and her Byakugan activating. "You thought wrong. Not only did you insult my friend, but you insulted his family. If I were you I would walk away before you get yourself hurt."

Hega bowed his head and walked away.

"I didn't need your help." Sasuke said.

"I didn't see your blonde shadow to back you up so I figured I would prevent an incident between our clans." Hinata said.

Sasuke turned to look at Hinata she was wearing a tight form fitting tank top underneath her usual hoodie. And a pair of fairly short shorts.

"Wouldn't expect that to be your style Hyuuga." Sasuke said, but Hinata could tell he meant to offence.

"Just figured I would try something new Uchiha." She thought for a moment, "You know I don't have anywhere to be for a while. I know a place that has pretty good spicy food."

Hearing spicy food Sasuke was caught. Hinata must have known he always had trouble resisting anything spicy. Kiba used to always take advantage of that fact back in the academy to get Sasuke to eat increasingly spicy peppers.

Sasuke sighed, "Lead the way Hyuuga."

Hinata walked past him flipping her hair as she passed him. "Why of course Uchiha."

XXXX

Obito stood along with Team Jiraiya in front of the Hokage.

Hiruzen let out a long sigh, "Unfortunately finding Jiraiya isn't that easy unless he wants to be found. Therefore, I have selected Team 7 to try and locate him."

Obito rubbed his temples, "So a team of genin to locate the Leaf's greatest spy master?"

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, "Will that be a problem Obito?" The killing intent that filled the room made it difficult to breathe for the other four occupants in the room, the ANBU that were hidden in the room even began to sweat.

"No Lord Hokage; that won't be a problem." Obito said straightening up. "When do we leave?"

Hiruzen visibly relaxed, "Team 7 will be departing in two days. I expect everyone will be ready by then."

Obito realized that it wasn't a question, it was just a fact that the Hokage expected his team to be ready. "As you wish Lord Hokage." Obito said, before being dismissed from the room.

XXXX

Naruto's smile was beaming as he walked Sakura home if he had been paying attention he would have felt the hateful looks directed his way as they walked but years of the looks had desensitized him to it.

Sakura on the other hand hated the way the villagers looked at Naruto, sure she wasn't the nicest to him in the academy but it was nothing like this. She could really see why Sasuke was so protective of him.

The question beginning to nag her she spoke up, "Naruto do they ever bother you?"

Naruto looked at her confused for a moment then the light started to fade from his eyes, "If you don't want to hang out with me anymore because of them I would understand. Most of the kids in the academy couldn't hang out with me either."

Seeing the look in his eyes as if he had felt this betrayal before broke her heart. She quickly pulled him into a hug. "No Naruto it's not that. I'm just worried about you."

Naruto could feel no deception in her words. The only people who ever worried about his feelings were Sasuke, Obito and Rin, his family. Did Sakura consider him family?

Naruto sniffled for a moment, "Thank you Sakura. I'm fine they don't bother me much anymore." He got serious for a moment, "If anyone gives you trouble for being seen with me you'll let me know?" He asked anger flickering in his voice.

As the two continued to walk Sakura put her hand in Naruto's. "I won't have time to tell you before I hurt them." She said giggling.

And with that Naruto's smile returned in force bringing one out of Sakura.

XXXX

After dropping off Sakura; Naruto quickly bounded home along the rooftops.

It did not take him long to get home and once he entered his smile was noticed by both his guardians who were sitting in the living room reading.

Obito sat up and looked at Naruto. "How'd it go?" He said with a teasing smile.

Naruto started to blush but luckily Rin bailed him out, "Don't tease him Obito. I'm sure he was the perfect gentleman and her the perfect lady. Right?" With the last word her smile vanished and was replaced with an intense stare that was punctuated further with Naruto because of how he had gotten beaten by her with just a finger.

Naruto nodded furiously, "We both behaved ourselves Big Sister Rin."

She relaxed in an instant. "That's good, I'm happy for you two."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief before looking around confused. "Is Sasuke home?"

Rin sat up again, "We thought you would've known where he was."

The door opened and Sasuke casually walked into the room, he could feel the eyes on him and knew that the questions were coming. He just wasn't sure who would be the most intense.

Naruto sniffed him making Sasuke uncomfortable. "Hinata?" Sasuke looked at him very confused.

"You can smell her on me?" Sasuke asked confused and uncomfortable. Naruto nodded, "Damn Kyuubi."

Sasuke heard more sniffing and realized Obito was on the other side of him doing the same thing. "It only works for him!" Sasuke shouted before realizing Rin was sniffing him too.

Sasuke started to grumble, "Are you just gonna sniff me or are you going to interrogate me?"

The three of them zipped comically onto the couch all sitting side by side ready to ask questions.

XXXX

 _Sasuke and Hinata had walked into the restaurant Hinata had mentioned and found themselves a seat to the back of the restaurant, the silence between the two would've been awkward if it wasn't the brooding Uchiha and the Hyuuga Princess._

 _Sasuke noticed that Hinata was fiddling with her index fingers, "If you have any questions you know you can just ask."_

 _Hinata looked up at Sasuke shocked hearing that, "It's just um…" she lulled over what she was going to say next in her head. Was she pushing too hard, was he only paying her back for helping him out, or was it the good option? "I've never been on a date before." She said it slightly under her voice._

 _Sasuke ignored the panic she was trying to hide, he didn't dislike Hinata, and if a girl as strong as her was willing to go out of her way to help him than he might as well give her a shot. "I haven't been on one either." He said casually. "Until now." He said a smirk crossing his lips_

 _Hinata perked up at hearing that and smiled a more confident smile and laughed. "Sorry about the whole little girl routine but needed to see how you would react." She knew she was bull shitting with that one. She was really nervous being out with a boy, but she wouldn't let him know it if she could._

 _The food came shortly after and the two just enjoyed the company of the other, most people they knew felt the need to talk constantly. They both had different people they could tolerate it from, Sasuke was able to tolerate his adoptive family, to an extent. Hinata felt close to her sister and team. But the two of them had never really interacted even during all those years in the academy and that feeling was scratching at the back of Sasuke's mind._

 _He knew that most kids didn't hang out with him because of his connection to Naruto. No one wanted to hang out with the demon kid, so anyone who did was a freak. That fact probably led to his protectiveness of Naruto. But while most kids would be mean to them Hinata never really was. She was crass and uncouth but never down right mean._

 _Hinata noticed that Sasuke was lost in thought, and she ended up just watching his eyes. Those eyes, the main reason anything between them would be challenged. Her Byakugan and his Sharingan, she doubted Lord Obito would oppose it, the few times she met him he was a very kind person. She was worried about her father and the rest of her clan. Were anything serious to happen between them she would be branded with the Caged Bird Seal in place of her sister._

 _Sasuke took a long sigh, "So Hinata, if you don't mind me asking you were never mean to Naruto or I growing up. Why is that?"_

 _Hinata had a feeling this was coming, "I'm sorry Sasuke. I had no reason to be mean to either of you. Naruto was mercilessly shunned for his secret," Sasuke was taken back by her understanding, he thought it was a secret. "And everyone kept their distance from you because of the hardships in your life." Hinata continued._

 _"_ _Truth be told I never interacted with either of you because I felt no need too." The two of you never seemed to be broken children. Quite the opposite in fact, the two of you were the elite of our class. No one could come even close to matching the two of you in combat, when either of you sparred with someone else it was laughable. I feel no shame for it, but I am sorry if it upset you in any way."_

 _Sasuke smiled satisfied with her answer. "Don't sweat it, makes sense. I never approached you either."_

 _XXXX_

 _After Sasuke paid for their meals the duo left the restaurant and began walking back towards the Hyuuga compound._

 _After reaching it Hinata noticed that Sasuke had his Sharingan active. She put his hand on his cheek, "Calm down Uchiha, you look ready for a life or death situation. You're just walking a defenseless little girl home."_

 _Sasuke scoffed at that response, "Nothing defenseless about you Hyuuga." The two stood in front of the gate watching each other for a moment, that moment though for both of them felt like it took a life time, they were both wrestling with the thoughts going through their minds about what to do._

 _Hinata ended the moment by quickly pecking Sasuke's cheek with her lips. "Look forward to hearing from you Uchiha." With that she walked back into the compound leaving a slightly off balance Sasuke outside._

 _Hinata laughed to herself when she was out of earshot, "I could get used to this feeling." She said to herself._

 _Sasuke chuckled walking away, "Wonder if this is how dobe feels when he looks at pinky?"_

XXXX

Obito, Rin and Naruto all listened intently to Sasuke's story. Rin broke the silence first, "The boys are dating now Obito!" She threw her arms around him in hysterical fashion, "Soon they will be getting married and having little versions of them running around. They're growing up so fast!" She let Obito go and brought the boys into a hug. "Promise me you boys won't grow up too fast!"

Naruto and Sasuke tried to get away from the bone crunching hug their sister was giving them. "Can't breathe. Naruto said reaching for Obito who was laughing at their predicament.

Rin released them, "I'm sorry but you boys growing up makes me so emotional."

All of them laughed at that, even Sasuke chuckled a bit to himself.


	7. The Fated Night

Sasuke ran through the old Uchiha district he could hear the fighting coming from the next street. His feet could not carry him fast enough there. He rounded the corner and what he saw next made him stop dead in his tracks.

Itachi was holding a bloodied Naruto up with one hand and a kunai slowly slicing through his throat in the other. And all around him lay the bodies of Obito, Rin, and Sakura. Itachi dropped Naruto as the light left his eyes.

Itachi didn't turn to acknowledge Sasuke, "I told you brother, you cannot kill me without hate. You lost yourself in love and so they had to die."

Sasuke began to cry looking at their bodies, he quickly realized he looked just like he did that night Itachi killed everyone. "Why brother? You already took mother and father away from me, why take them?"

Itachi turned to Sasuke his eye shifting into a three-pronged shuriken. "Because your love and selfishness killed them!" With that Itachi lunged at Sasuke, but right as he was about to strike Itachi's eyes shifted from their mangekyo form to a sickly yellow.

XXXX

Sasuke woke with a start sitting in his bed. He quickly ran out of his room and opened Naruto's door, seeing the blond laying sprawled out in his bed Sasuke finally relaxed.

He took a breath walking into the living room, he knew after that he wasn't going to sleep anymore. Obito had already told him and Naruto about their upcoming mission to hunt down Jiraiya. So he grabbed the mission scroll he had.

Reading over the details he saw that the Rain Rebels would be joining them on this mission because their time with him would hopefully help locate him.

From what Rin had told him in the past there was a good chance that they would find him near a bath house peeping on the women inside. He was not looking forward to meeting him. War hero or not he was a Sanin and the last one Sasuke met was so nice to give Sasuke this nice little tattoo.

He heard the footsteps approaching him, he could tell from the weight and gait that it was Obito. "This is pretty early for you." Sasuke said still reading the scroll.

"I heard you get up." Obito replied. Sasuke tensed up. Had he been talking in his sleep, he didn't want them to worry about him over just a dream.

Obito sat across from Sasuke at the table. "Itachi?" He watched Sasuke fidget a bit. "It's fine to have dreams you know. Kami knows I still get them."

Sasuke leaned forward hearing Obito admit to his own nightmares. "What do you dream about?"

Obito mulled it over, he knew that he couldn't tell Sasuke the entire story so sticking to the official story was most likely best.

XXXX

 _Obito was lounging on his roof thinking about how great his date with Rin had gone. The two of them had gone to this great ramen place that Minato Sensei and Kushina had recommended. And now he was watching the moon in the sky._

 _Suddenly his stomach dropped, the chakra he felt was repulsive and sickening. In a puff of smoke, it appeared. The Nine Tailed Fox, it stood in the center of the village. Looking left too right Obito activated his Sharingan prepared to join up with the other ninja to combat this monster._

 _Kakashi landed next to Obito, "Minato Sensei wants us to join him in the small clearing just past the Hokage monument."_

 _Obito wordlessly fell into step behind Kakashi. He knew Minato Sensei would have a plan, he even felt slightly honored that his sensei the Hokage had requested him personally._

 _As they were jumping from tree to tree Obito noticed the chakra signatures of his peers that graduated with them, he darted slightly off course to check._

 _Obito landed on a branch out of sight and looked into the chakra cage, he could see Gai, Asuma, Kurenai, Izumo, Kotetsu, Ibisu, Anko and finally Rin. He knew she would be safe there, but for now he had to follow his orders._

 _Obito and Kakashi came upon a clearing that was littered with battle damage. He could see glimpses of Minato fighting a pale man. Obito's blood chilled realizing it was Orochimaru. He started to charge and aid his sensei his Sharingan active until he felt the pulse of chakra behind him._

 _Kakashi stood as the black markings began to spread across his body, slowly Kakashi started to lose himself._

 _Obito turned and saw Kakashi's eyes go blank, then they were immediately replaced with rage. "Die!" Kakashi shouted as his hands went through their usual hand signs. His hand was covered in lightning that was sparking erratically. He charged straight for Obito with the intent to kill._

 _Were it not for Obito's Sharingan and his experience fighting Kakashi he probably would have died right there. But luckily he was able to dodge away from the jab pushing it away and into the ground causing an additional crater to be formed._

 _Kakashi grabbed his head in agony and began screaming, "Get out! Get out! Get out!" He quickly started to fight Obito again. Kakashi was attacking with the intent to kill, but Obito was just side stepping all of the attacks._

 _Obito saw the black markings continue to spread over Kakashi's body, "Kakashi you have to fight it!" He shouted to his friend. "Orochimaru is doing this to you, you don't want to fight me."_

 _Kakashi turned and looked at the man fighting him, he noticed the red eyes staring back at him with an emotion he couldn't place. All he knew right now was Lord Orochimaru wanted this man dead so he was going to gladly do it. He began his attack simply with basic taijutsu lulling his opponent into a false sense of security._

 _Obito noticed that Kakashi's form was too simple, he had seen Kakashi use this trick before on older opponents who looked down on him for his age. Kakashi would fight sloppily until he noticed that his opponent would do the same at which time Kakashi would start to fight seriously._

 _Obito didn't play along, he knew that Kakashi was an incredibly powerful ninja and he didn't want this fight to last long._

 _The two charged at one another quickly throwing and deflecting blows, Kakashi threw his leg up trying to catch Obito in the chin which was blocked by Obito, which he immediately followed up with a jab to Kakashi's ribs which he landed. Kakashi was not fazed by that blow, so he responded with a 360-degree back hand chop that Obito tilted his head away from._

 _Kakashi then tried to uppercut Obito but it was blocked throwing Obito slightly off balance. Obito attempted a straight jab to Kakashi's head which he leaned away from. Obito then spun around trying to land his fist onto Kakashi's head landing a glancing blow. Kakashi responded by spin kicking at Obito but he backed out of the way dodging it._

 _Obito tried to back off from the attacks, but Kakashi charged forward keeping the pressure on Obito. They quickly exchanged elbows neither landing a blow, Kakashi brought his leg up sweeping and used the same leg to extend straight into a kick catching Obito slightly off balance, Obito was about to use the slight movement to punch straight at Kakashi but Kakashi ducked down with a kick to Obito's legs. Obito jumped up and pushed off of Kakashi's legs in the same motion, causing Kakashi to continue to spin trying to hit him with the opposite leg._

 _Kakashi jumped up to his feet and kept that momentum to try and punch Obito, but Obito was quick enough to deflect the strike. Obito tried pushing Kakashi away but that was just used as an opportunity to throw another elbow which Obito ducked under. Kakashi attempted another straight jab that Obito moved out of the way from, taking advantage of his angle Obito took a shot straight at Kakashi's jaw but he missed as Kakashi leaned back throwing his leg out Obito still managing to dodge._

 _Kakashi tried an additional jab that Obito leaned back from and then threw his leg out at Kakashi. Kakashi jumped out of the way and used his own leg to throw Obito off balance. Obito regained his composure quickly and tried to throw another punch but Kakashi was able to dance out of the way. Obito took the chance to attack again but was deflected once again. Kakashi took his chance and slammed the back of his fist into Obito's head throwing him to the side._

 _Obito managed to maintain his footing though and turned quickly to see Kakashi already preparing to jump kick him. Obito weaved out of the way to get behind Kakashi who responded by kicking rapidly at the retreating Uchiha. Obito managed to duck under one of the kicks and threw the back of his fist at Kakashi throwing him 8 feet away rolling as he landed._

 _Kakashi lay on his back reeling from that blow, he opened his eyes and saw Obito's foot descending on his head. Kakashi quickly rolled out of the way as Obito cracked the ground where he landed. Kakashi kicked up back to his feet and swung his leg again at an approaching Obito who barely backed away from the foot._

 _Obito was about to sweep Kakashi's legs when Kakashi leaped over Obito. Seeing another chance to take the high ground Obito again tried to leg sweep Kakashi who landed for a moment on the ground just to jump back into the air, attacking Obito with a barrage of punches and kicks._

 _Pushing off Obito with his foot Kakashi pulled out a kunai spinning it in his index finger before catching it ready to use and slicing down on Obito. Luckily Obito was quick enough to get out of the way, but his opponent swung his arm back across, this time Obito had to stop the attack by grabbing Kakashi's arm. Realizing his arm was now stuck Kakashi switched the hand he held the kunai and tried swiping at Obito's torso causing him to have to let go and jump back. Obito then knocked the kunai away into the air while the two continued to exchange blows._

 _Kakashi seeing the chance to get his opponent unsuspecting he did a front flip kicking the kunai at Obito slicing him across the cheek. Reeling back from the kunai Obito realized that he had been cut he used all his weight in a punch at Kakashi's head which was blocked but the force of the blow was still enough to hurl Kakashi away._

 _Kakashi skidded to a stop 12 feet away from Obito who saw the look in his friend's eyes, those were the eyes of a crazed killer, he had seen it happen to other ninja, they would become so unhinged that they only found solace in the violence and pain they caused._

 _Obito hardened his resolve and readied his own kunai cracking his neck before charging at Kakashi. This fight stopped being about trying to calm him down and now it was about stopping him._

 _Kakashi readied a kunai in each hand for the dual that was about to happen, he still wasn't sure what was happening he just saw that the man Lord Orochimaru wanted dead was not dead yet._

 _Obito swung his kunai to strike Kakashi, their blades clashed for a moment before Kakashi kicked away Obito's kunai and tried to swipe at his legs but Obito did a somersault out of the way, from that angle Obito did a handstand on Kakashi's back landing on the other side and swinging his leg right onto Kakashi's cheek._

 _Kakashi instantly recovered again the kunai were swinging into one another. Obito grabbed Kakashi's arm throwing him to the ground and he tried to stab down at him; but Kakashi was able to slide himself out of the way. They both continued their barrages of attacks until Obito did a leg bar take down throwing Kakashi back to the ground but that wasn't enough._

 _Obito started to feel the drain of the fight now, he had never had a fight like this. Even with Kakashi no one had ever pushed him this hard._

 _The sparks continued to fly as kunai hit kunai the two constantly exchanging blows but neither ever getting the upper hand. Obito managed to knock the kunai out of Kakashi's right hand, the two ended up meeting fists and trying to push the other, Obito smiled an idea forming in his mind, he used Kakashi's empty hand to complete his own hand signs._

 _Kakashi saw what Obito was doing he couldn't remember anyone ever trying to do something like that, Obito took advantage of Kakashi's distraction and kicked his leg up hitting him in the chin. Obito jumped away from the dazed Kakashi and performed the final hand sign and put his hands together taking in a deep breath. "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" Obito yelled as a massive fireball came flying towards Kakashi._

 _Kakashi saw the light and felt the heat approaching him; he quickly formed his own hands signs and slammed his palms onto the ground. "Earth Style: Mud Wall!" Suddenly a wall grew from the ground in front of him absorbing the fire blast._

 _Kakashi quickly realized he was surrounded by smoke. He saw the smoke start to shift to his right so he readied for the attack but once it passed the smoke all he saw was a kunai tied to a bundle of cloth that held it in the air for a moment. He was just fast enough to see that Obito had emerged from the other side of the wall and delivered a crippling kick to Kakashi's head forcing him all the way through what was left of the mud wall._

 _Obito took his chance to try and end this fight, he was about to strike when the ground beneath him opened up and another Kakashi emerged grabbing Obito's wrist before exploding with electricity._

 _Kakashi immediately followed up the attack by kicking Obito in the chin. While in the air Obito saw Kakashi preparing another kick that landed right in Obito's chest throwing him back._

 _Obito regained his bearing and saw the marks finally take over Kakashi's entire body. The chakra he radiated now didn't even feel like his own. With his Sharingan Obito could see Kakashi's hair begin to darken into a pale blue as it grew, followed by his ears extending out and fur beginning to cover his body._

 _Kakashi did a quick set of hand signs and his hands again radiated electric chakra. Obito grimaced about what was about to happen, he could feel himself quickly losing chakra but he knew that stopping Kakashi had to happen. He extended his hand out and pushed the chakra the way he had seen his sensei do many times before. The chakra began to spin faster and faster until the ball was the size of his own head._

 _Obito could feel the air around them still, even the cries of the people in the village were drowned out by the nothingness he heard, he and Kakashi both charged forward as if some invisible force willed them to move simultaneously. They both covered the distance in moments throwing their respective jutsu forward in a bright clash that caused the ground around them to shake._

 _Kakashi noticed that the man he had been fighting, his eyes seemed to change they no longer simply had three dots, they spread out into a large shuriken pattern, and it felt like he was not hitting anything._

 _Obito felt himself fall through Kakashi, he could feel the sudden sharp drain from his eyes but he ignored it for a few moments longer, after appearing on the opposite side of Kakashi he turned and threw his attack full force into the back of his friend. Throwing him 20 feet through the air._

 _Kakashi tried to breathe but he could feel that he had broken many ribs after that last attack. He saw that his target started to wobble in place before falling to the ground. Kakashi tried to stand but the curse mark started to recede. When suddenly he felt his mind clear, he saw the carnage that had happened._

 _He began to panic and saw Obito lying on the ground unconscious. Without warning Orochimaru appeared next to Kakashi. "Well aren't you a good little dog hm?"_

 _The voice caused a shiver to run down Kakashi's back, "It's a real shame I don't have enough chakra left after all that to give him my gift. Oh well, come on dog we have to go." He said as he walked away._

 _Kakashi knew he didn't want to but he felt the pull from Orochimaru leading him away._

XXXX

Sasuke sat silently thinking about the cause of Obito's nightmares. "I'm sorry I never knew." He said afraid that he may upset his family.

Obito waved him off, "Don't be. I understand dreams are personal but if you ever feel the need to just talk to me I am here for you Sasuke."

With that Obito stood up and went back to his room to get ready for the day.


	8. A Journey into Iron

Sakura walked with a slight spring in her step, she was about to go on another mission, this time to look for the Toad Sage Jiraiya. Lady Rin and Obito Sensei had told her about him before but she had also been a student of history. She knew Jiraiya is one of the most powerful ninjas in the Five Nations, if he asked Lord Third to he would step down so Jiraiya could take the role of the Fifth.

But she was also excited because she would be spending lots of time with her team. Obito Sensei was one of the nicest men she had ever met, Sasuke was ok she thought, she was just happy she got over her crush. But that led her to the last member of her team, Naruto. She wasn't sure of her feelings for him, but she knew he had it bad for her. She definitely cared for him she just didn't want to hurt him, he had enough of that in his life already.

She arrived at the gate and saw the two boys in their usual position. Sasuke slumped against a tree asleep, and Naruto sitting next to him.

When Naruto saw Sakura he felt his heart almost jump all the way out of his chest. All manner of professionalism went flying out the window.

Naruto waved excitedly, "Hey Sakura!" He quickly caught himself realizing he may have accidently woken Sasuke. Turning to his friend he saw he was still asleep. Naruto let out a breath of relief.

Sakura giggled at her… What was he to her? Definitely her teammate, probably a friend, did she think of him as more than that? "Hey Naruto." She said smiling at the blonde.

Naruto's stomach started turning in knots seeing her smile at him like that. He squirmed a bit in place as she sat beside him.

Right here Naruto thought this moment was perfect. He had the girl of his dreams sitting next to him with a smile just for him, his best friend sitting next to him this was what he really wanted. Hokage be damned, his precious people would always come first.

Naruto noticed the Rain Rebels walking towards them seemingly involved in their own conversation. Now all that was missing was his perpetually late sensei.

XXXX

Obito was standing in front of a grave that meant a lot to him. He rubbed his fingers across the stone and read the words it said out loud, "Minato Namikaze: The Yellow Flash of the Leaf and Fourth Hokage."

He always hated how simple Minato Sensei's grave was, the man deserved so much more but a Hokage was supposed to show composure even in death. Obito knew that in life Minato may have been a killer in war, but when it came to people he cared about he was the least Hokage like person anyone could ever meet.

"Hey Sensei." He started looking at the stone, "I'm taking Naruto and his team out of the village again on another mission. This time we are going to look for Lord Jiraiya, I'm not going to tell Kushina that part, she would hate the idea of that pervert rubbing off on her son."

He laughed to himself, "The Rain Rebels approached us and asked about us working with their organization to finally defeat Hanzo. If we did it would earn us an additional ally." He took a long sigh, "I'm not going to lie to you Sensei, none of the Five villages are willing to work together. War could be started by anything at this point, you would've known exactly what to do now wouldn't you?"

He took another sigh, "I guess I have kept them waiting long enough. I know you'd be proud of Naruto, Sensei." With that Obito began his walk to the gate.

XXXX

Yahiko began to pace back and forth. "What is taking him so long?" He asked to no one in particular.

"Sensei is always late." Sakura said to the orange haired Akatsuki. She didn't really mind so much anymore; she had gotten used to it.

Obito turned the corner and was within eye sight finally. "Hey you guys, ready to go?" He said with his usual smile.

Nagato decided to speak over Yahiko to prevent an argument. "Whenever you are Obito."

XXXX

The group continued their run towards the Land of Iron where Jiraiya was last known to be. Their formation was a bit odd adding the Akatsuki into it but the weirdest part for the genin was when Konan split apart into hundreds of pieces of paper and spread out around them.

Obito knew of the Kunoichi's talents but he had opted not to tell them, he couldn't wait until they saw Nagato's abilities. Scratch that, he hoped there would be no need for anyone to do anything like that.

XXXX

The group stopped for the night not feeling the need to push themselves through the night. After a fire was started Naruto happily sat down in front of it flanked by his teammates.

Yahiko got a mischievous smile on his face, which was caught by Konan, nothing good ever came from that face.

"Hey Naruto," Yahiko started getting the blonde's attention. "I can't tell, which one of them are you dating?" He asked gesturing to Sasuke and Sakura.

Sakura responded by trying to hide a blush, Naruto responded by shouting at the orange haired rebel, Sasuke on the other hand shrugged off the comment.

Naruto was about to jump at Yahiko for his comment but Sakura grabbed the back of his jacket, "Sit down baka. He's just teasing us."

Yahiko made a sad face at Sakura, "Come on pinky why did you have to ruin all my fun?"

Obito chuckled at that, "Naruto and Sakura are the budding couple." He watched the two of them try and hide their blush, that's when he decided to go in for the kill. "Little Sasuke is courting the Heiress of the Hyuuga clan."

Yahiko's smile continued on, "Well isn't that cute." He stopped for a moment looking at Obito, "Would their babies have the Sharingan or the Byakugan?"

Sasuke's eyes opened wide in shock from he had just heard. "I'm going to bed." He said standing up and walking away.

"Just think of kunai and shuriken will help the wood go down!" Yahiko shouted back to the departing Uchiha.

Konan smacked him on the shoulder, "Stop teasing him." She turned to Sakura, "I'm sorry for his behavior."

Sakura smiled back at her fellow kunoichi, "It's no trouble." She said scooting closer to Naruto earning a dumb looking smile from him.

XXXX

The group continued moving through the trees the next day; until the snow started to get heavier. Obito raised his arm in the air telling the group to stop. Without warning everyone was surrounded by samurai from all directions.

"We are ninjas from two different villages simply looking for one of our own." Obito said keeping his calm and working to control his chakra.

One of the samurai stepped forward. "Names." Was all he said keeping his blade trained on Obito.

Obito breathed for a moment. "I am Obito Uchiha, Jonin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The Pink Haired girl is Sakura Haruno genin, Naruto Uzumaki is the blond also a genin, and Sasuke Uchiha is the boy in the blue shirt."

He turned to look at the Akatsuki members, "And you?" He said wanting an answer.

"I am Yahiko and these are my companions Konan and Nagato Uzumaki." Yahiko said maintaining a cool demeanor. Kami knew that reacting poorly in these situations would only end with people getting hurt.

Naruto stared at Nagato hearing they shared a last name, sure Naruto knew that his surname was chosen at random before Obito and Rin adopted him but hearing that someone else had the same name as him was kind of blowing his mind.

Nagato caught the stare he was getting from Naruto; he had hoped that Yahiko would have avoided using his family name. He didn't want to get the kids hopes up. It was a common orphan name to have anyway.

The samurai looked over all the ninja in front of him. "Follow us." He said turning around as all the swords quickly returned to their sheaths.

XXXX

After 3 minutes of walking Obito asked the question. "So why did you all sheath your swords after hearing our names?" Obito thought it was weird for a trained warrior to turn their back on a potential enemy.

The samurai portrayed no emotion in his voice. "We had archers in the trees ready to kill all of you."

Obito gulped glad he wasn't having to fight these guys. It was a common knowledge that pound for pound the average jonin could easily defeat a samurai, the problem became that samurai tended to move in large groups while ninjas rarely moved in groups larger than six.

After an hour of walking the group is led to a village. Naruto was looking all around taking in the sights. Sasuke was watching for any potential threats, Sakura was watching the obvious threats.

It was a trick that Obito had come up with, if one of them looked like a goof ball with little training the entire unit would be underestimated. Naruto was the easy choice to play the unaware, that was decided unanimously by the other three members.

The group was met by an older looking man with a large amount of facial hair, "I am Mifune. You have all trespassed into our lands without our consent, I hope for your sake you have a good reason."

Obito slowly reached into his pouch not trying to arouse any alarm, he slowly pulled out a piece of paper, "From the Hokage." He said handing it to a samurai who in turn handed it to Mifune.

Mifune read the paper over, "Come with me." He said turning around.

The group was led into a large building to the side of the head building in the village. And were ushered into a room that looked a lot like a dungeon. Obito tensed wondering if he had just walked into this. Before he looked into the cell that was in the room, in it sat a man with white long hair scribbling onto a piece of paper.

Obito began to rub his temples. "How did you get caught?" He couldn't believe that a ninja of Jiraiya's caliber was found out. "Because I'm assuming you're in here for spying on the samurai."

Seeing that he had company Jiraiya started laughing loudly, "Yeah I got caught spying on samurai all right! The samurai ladies that is!" He said with a big smile shooting the group a thumbs up.

Konan refused to meet the gaze of her old sensei, Yahiko was laughing at the antics, Nagato was just working to make sure no one saw his eyes. The Leaf Genin on the other hand were all dumbfounded with equally confused looks on their faces. They had all heard how much of a pervert he is from Rin but had expected more.

Obito was simply banging his head on the wall shocked that his sensei's sensei was this big of a dope.

Naruto walked up to the bars looking at the man in the room with a goofy smile on his face. "I thought you were supposed to be the Toad Sage of Mt Myoboku! All I see is a… a… Pervy Sage!"

"What did you just call me you little brat?" Jiraiya said Slamming on the bars, "I am the student of the Third Hokage, Student of the Great Toad Sage, Master to the Fourth Hokage and member of the Sanin!"

Naruto turned away, "Don't forget pervy."

XXXX

Obito quickly worked it out with the samurai to let Jiraiya go as long as they took him out of the Land of Iron.

Jiraiya after being released looked at his three disciples that he took in. "Well I heard the three of you have been raising hell." He stopped for a second, "I'm going to have to fight Hanzo again aren't I?" He said sounding like a depressed child who had to do their homework over again.

"Sorry Sensei but we want to take him down for good." Konan said overjoyed that their group was finally whole again.


	9. A Terrible Misunderstanding

Naruto stretched out in his bed, Obito had promised him a day off from missions, but that had never been enough to stop him from training. He quickly put on his usual orange track suit and ran out the front door.

Naruto ran to his favorite training spot by a waterfall, ever since Obito taught him Sakura and Sasuke how to walk up trees he had been wanting to walk up a waterfall, but he could never even get his foot to latch on before being dragged under the water, after realizing he wasn't going to be able to do that without some serious help he just made that his usual training spot.

Once he got there though he heard giggling coming from the nearby bush. Naruto being Naruto felt the need to investigate what was happening. Pushing a few branches away he saw a big scroll sitting on the ground next to a man with long white hair, Naruto realized it was Jiraiya so he decided that he would get back at the pervert.

He slowly slid the scroll away and secured it on his back before leaving from the area as quickly as he could. Jiraiya looked behind himself with a knowing smile.

XXXX

Naruto sat in the forest near a small shack, his curiosity getting the better of him he opened the scroll, hell last time he read a scroll in the woods he learned the shadow clone technique who knows what he would learn this time.

He saw that is was just a summoning scroll, he never really thought that summoning was all that cool but he read on anyway. After seeing the hand signs, he tried doing them for himself, but right before he was about to perform the last sign Naruto's hands were held by hands much larger than his own.

Naruto stared blankly at the sweating Jiraiya. "Don't finish that jutsu; ok?" Naruto silently nodded.

"Where did you come from?" Naruto asked the white haired man.

"Please kid, I am Jiraiya the Toad Sage you really thought you could pull one over me? I was following you from the moment you left." Jiraiya said with a smile. "So kid did you notice the names on that scroll?"

Naruto read the scroll and saw the first name was Hagoromo Otsutsuki, then he read on through numerous names that he did not recognize until he came to Jiraiya but it was the next one that caught him the most off guard. Minato Namikaze, the man that Naruto idolized as the ideal Hokage and strongest ninja to ever live.

Even when Rin and Obito would tell him a story about him he would only become even more impressed. But now he saw his name here on this toad summoning contract, the words seemed to fly out of Naruto's mouth, "I want to sign!"

Hook line and sinker, Jiraiya thought to himself, using the kids own father to manipulate him, hell the kid didn't even know that was his father.

Jiraiya sat for a moment trying to look unsure, "I don't know kid, you are just a genin, I don't know if you're ready." He pondered even more, "But maybe Sasuke would be better suited for it."

That was all Naruto could take, Sasuke may have been like a brother to him but he still wanted to be better than him. "No that teme isn't right for toads!"

Jiraiya leaned down to Naruto's eye level. "And why is that little genin?"

Naruto racked his brain for a minute but he couldn't find the right answer. "I don't know, but I would be better for toads." Naruto said crossing his arms.

Jiraiya then walked Naruto through the steps to sign the contract even the blood signing didn't faze the kid. The Sanin wondered if he was always this determined.

XXXX

Naruto bounced onto his feet after signing the contract he once again tried to form the hand signs this time Jiraiya let him finish and Naruto slammed his palm onto the ground. And in a puff of smoke sat a tiny little tadpole.

Naruto deadpanned seeing the little failure he had managed to summon. His teacher on the other hand couldn't catch his breath he was laughing so hard. The blonde grumbled something about old men who should watch it.

The rest of the day went by largely the same with Naruto attempting to summon a toad but the best he could do was a tadpole with little legs that were still forming. But he still was not letting it get him down.

XXXX

He started to run back to his house before passing the Yamanaka flower shop he knew that it was probably a bad idea but he went inside. The first thing he noticed was that he was assaulted by a large variety of smells, it made him feel a bit uncomfortable but he went to the counter anyway.

Who he saw at the counter didn't really surprise him he knew Ino watched her families store from time to time he just hoped she wouldn't blab to early about this.

Ino noticed Naruto entered and was confused as to why, the idiot never really seemed like the flower giving type. Her heart froze for a second, was he going to confess his love for her like the others? She hoped not, she was tired of all those boys propositioning her and even some of the older men getting a bit too graphic for her taste.

"Hey Ino." Naruto said waving to his fellow blonde as he got to the counter, "I was wondering if…"

Ino cut him off, "I'm sorry Naruto but I really don't see you that way, I'm sure you're a great guy but just not for me."

Naruto stared at the kunoichi in front of him confused, "I was gonna ask if you have any Hibiscus I know Sakura really liked them."

Ino had never felt so embarrassed, not only had she assumed a boy was going to ask her out but he had actually wanted to buy flowers for her friend and rival. Then her mind following the competitive route she wondered why he liked Sakura instead of her.

Ino helped Naruto pick out a small pot with a Hibiscus plant in it. Naruto made his purchase waving as he walked away. She was mortified that had just happened, it also bothered her a bit. Not that she really minded Naruto but she would've preferred a guy like Sasuke. The only reason she never really approached him before was because he was always with Naruto.

And for some reason her parents had wanted her to stay away from him. Now that she thought about it she had heard other parents telling their children the same thing, only a couple of the boys would ever really hang out with them. Was something wrong with Naruto, he never seemed to be sick or anything quite the opposite in fact she couldn't remember a time when Naruto had been sick. Sasuke sure but never Naruto.

XXXX

Naruto happily walked to Sakura's house he was looking forward to giving her these flowers and hopefully to ask her out on another date. Reaching her door Naruto gave two quick knocks and waited for a moment.

Once the man with the pale pink hair saw the little blond boy at his door he got angry. It was one thing that the Hokage had forced his daughter onto this things team but to have him show up at her home with… he noticed the flower and his worst fears were coming true.

"What do you want demon?" He asked with a thick coating of venom on his words.

Naruto was taken back after hearing that, "Um is Sakura home?" He asked worried that this may get very ugly very fast.

The man scoffed, "My daughter doesn't want to see you. She only tolerates you in order to further her career. I remember her talking fondly about the Uchiha boy though." Kizashi knew that Sakura had gotten over her crush on the boy years ago but he figured it would be an effective way to get this trash off his stoop.

Naruto looked down in sadness before offering the pot to the man. "Can you just give this to her please?"

Kizashi took the plant and watched Naruto start to walk away. He pulled his arm holding the pot back and threw it, the pot landed directly on Naruto's head shattering and covering Naruto in dirt. "And stay away from my daughter you demon!"

Naruto got to his feet and ran as fast as he could; holding the tears in as long as possible.

XXXX

Ino had watched the interaction happen, she had originally just wanted to snoop but what she saw appalled her. Kizashi had always been so nice to her, she was having a hard time that was the same man who just threw a potted plant at a young boy's head.

She quickly ran off trying to find Sakura, she could understand if she didn't return Naruto's feelings but that was unacceptable.

XXXX

Ino found Sakura eating dumplings just outside of one of the training grounds. Ino walked over to her "friend" ready to rip her to pieces. "Forehead do you know what I just watched?"

Sakura turned to look at her friend confused as to why all the hostility. She could tell that Ino was upset but this time the anger was directed directly at her. "What's up Ino?" Sakura asked worried.

Ino huffed, "Oh like you don't know. Naruto came by the shop today to pick up a flower. I got nosey so I followed him because he told me it was for you." Sakura gasped at that. "Oh it gets better bitch, when he got to your house your father opened the door."

Sakura was terrified of what she would be told next she knew her father hated Naruto, he always talked about how upset he was that Sakura was on the same team as him the only upside being that she was on the same team as the last loyal Uchiha.

Ino continued, "He started to berate Naruto and say that you only hung out with him was to get close to Sasuke. He kept calling Naruto demon and just insulting him." Ino was finally lettting all the anger she was feeling out. "I've known Naruto for a long time and I have seen him go through some terrible shit, I'm not proud of the fact I didn't help but Kami I have never seen anyone that emotionally beaten down."

Sakura was nearly in tears hearing this, "I had no idea I…"

Ino cut her off, "Save it Sakura. Because even after that he still wanted you to have the flower, even after being treated subhuman he still wanted you to have it. He gave it to your father and simply asked him to give it to you. After that Naruto was walking away dejected feeling like he had no worth when your father hurled the pot at Naruto's head knocking him down."

Sakura was now holding her hand in front of her mouth, she couldn't believe her father would do this, but Ino had no reason to lie about it.

"After that Naruto ran off, it didn't take a mind walker to tell he was holding back tears." Ino finished.

That was the last straw she knew Naruto fairly well and even after all the times he was treated differently or disrespected he never cried, why was this time so different?

Ino was seething at this point but she could feel the anger beginning to simmer, "If you know what's good for you, you better go and apologize to that boy because he loves you. You don't have to return his feelings but he deserves to hear the truth from you." With that Ino walked away not wanting to see a Haruno.

XXXX

Naruto burst in through the door, he was happy that Rin was at the hospital Obito was in a meeting and Sasuke was out with Hinata. Because right now he wanted to be alone, he didn't know why those words hurt so much. He had been called demon all his life, but what shocked him the most was when Mr. Haruno said Sakura had a crush on Sasuke.

Was he not good enough in her mind, was Sasuke always meant to be the person that was better than Naruto? Even in the academy in every subject Sasuke always managed to score higher, he even learned techniques faster. So now it seems that he would lose Sakura to him too.

Naruto let out a sigh, as long as they're both happy he figured he could live with it. Just go on with life like normal for now was his plan. Even so he didn't want to think about anything right now so he undressed into his boxers and crawled into bed and let sleep take him over.


	10. Uzumaki Vs Uchiha

Sasuke walked into the house and noticed Naruto's sandals were already at the door, so he walked into the house and into Naruto's room. "Naruto wake up I want to spar." He shook his friend trying to wake him up.

Naruto grumbled about wanting to be left alone but Sasuke wasn't hearing it. "C'mon dobe, let's get moving or maybe I'll make my move on Sakura."

Naruto's eyes shot open and he sat bolt upright looking at Sasuke. He knew that he was going to accept them being together doesn't mean he was going to like it. "Give me two minutes teme."

Sasuke nodded and walked out of the room and felt a cold shiver run down his spine hearing the cold way Naruto spoke.

Sasuke was waiting for Naruto who came out in full gear. "We should do this at the training ground." With that Naruto turned and jumped away from Sasuke.

This worried him because the only time they sparred there rather than at home was to avoid any kind of damage to the house, did Naruto intend to go all out like this.

XXXX

The two genin stood ten paces away from one another. Sasuke got into his stance ready for the fight before Naruto spoke. "You're going to need that Sharingan teme. I won't be holding anything back so I expect the same from you." While saying that Naruto tightened his headband.

Sasuke took a breath focusing the chakra into his eyes; and then charged at Naruto. He tried to start the fight off in his favor by sweeping at Naruto's legs but the blonde was ready for that strike he jumped over his friend grabbing him by the shoulders in an iron grip and used the momentum of his flip to launch Sasuke into the nearby tree.

Regaining his bearing Sasuke looked ahead to Naruto and saw the blonde throwing kunai at him. Sasuke jumped onto the tree out of the way using his chakra to hold him on the bark, all of those blows while not lethal would definitely leave him in critical condition.

Taking advantage of the pressure he put on Naruto formed a hand seal summoning numerous clones to deal with Sasuke. Seeing this the Uchiha jumped off the tree using his chakra to propel him into one of the clones which poofed away upon impact. Sasuke then spun around throwing shuriken into all the clones but taking care not to hit Naruto.

"Ok dobe tell me what's up; clearly you are upset." Sasuke said relaxing his stance only slightly.

Naruto shook his head, "No talking, you wanted to spar so let's spar!" Naruto jumped at Sasuke and tried to beat him with simple taijutsu.

The Sharingan made that difficult as Sasuke weaved out of nearly all of the blonde's attacks only being hit by glancing blows. Tired of this Sasuke went on the offensive. He jumped away from Naruto and started to do a series of hand signs before taking in a deep breath. "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" Sasuke yelled before hurling a massive fireball straight at Naruto.

Seeing and feeling the heat coming from the attack Naruto tried to form the Rasengan in his hand pushing it into the fireball slowly absorbing it. After the fire died out Naruto realized he had lost track of Sasuke, so he let the jutsu die in his hand.

He heard the steps behind him but they were short and they were close Naruto only had the time to turn around as Sasuke punched Naruto in the stomach launching Naruto across the grounds and directly into a tree.

XXXX

Sakura heard the commotion and felt the familiar chakra of her teammates, but what she saw terrified her. Naruto wasn't holding back against Sasuke; this was something different. Had her father's words have hurt him this much?

XXXX

Naruto stood up and looked over to Sasuke, it was clear to the Uchiha that Naruto was no longer fighting out of anger, now it was from pain. He couldn't tell what it was but he had no idea on how to stop it.

Naruto formed a single shadow clone next to him that went to work forming the perfect Rasengan in his hand.

Sasuke was taken back upon seeing this, he knew the power that jutsu had Sasuke only knew of one jutsu that could counter the Rasengan and he hated the thought of having to use it against Naruto.

Sasuke quickly formed the simple hand signs as his hand became surrounded by lightning. His Sharingan raging and staring forward. On a silent cue the two boys charged at one another both pushing their jutsu forward.

Sakura tried running to stop them but they were too fast and just as they were about to collide Obito dropped in between them kicking Sasuke's attack into the ground and grabbing hold of Naruto keeping the Rasengan safely away from anyone.

XXXX

Naruto looked up at Obito and saw his Sharingan looking back at him. Naruto looked away refusing to make eye contact as he let his Rasengan die out.

Obito breathed, "Sasuke go home I need to talk to Naruto alone. The two of us will talk later."

Sasuke wordlessly agreed walking away from the two, he noticed Sakura had been watching the whole thing. All he was worried about though was Naruto, fighting like that was never like him.

Obito glared at Naruto, "You know I only taught you the Rasengan to protect yourself and those you care about, not to use it on your best friend!" The last part he yelled.

Naruto refused to make eye contact with Obito. "What got you so upset that you had to fight like that?" Obito asked wanting an explanation, "Do you realize that if it weren't for me one of you might have died?"

Naruto took a deep breath and began to explain the incident with Sakura's dad. Obito took a deep sigh, he understood why that would upset Naruto so much but that was no excuse to attack Sasuke like that.

"I get it." Obito began, "But attacking Sasuke like that was unacceptable. I have half a mind to relieve you of your position on Team 7 taking your rank away."

Hearing that Naruto gasped and subconsciously touched his headband before Obito continued. "You know that boy even through all the shit he's been through because of his friendship with you he never hesitated in any of it?"

Naruto lowered his head in shame, "You're right sensei, doing that to Sasuke was wrong." He stood up dusting his pants off, "I'm going to go an apologize to him."

As Naruto walked off Obito took a long breath before turning to where he knew Sakura was. "You can come out now Sakura."

Realizing she was caught Sakura slowly walked out into the open, "Are they going to be ok sensei?"

Obito let himself chuckle, "They may seem as close as brothers but that also means they fight like brothers from time to time. Just give them some time and everything will be back too normal."

XXXX

Naruto continued his walk through the village to find Sasuke when he spotted him sitting on top of one of the water towers.

Naruto began to walk up the side of the building until he was on the roof. "Hey," Naruto said still quite ashamed of what he had done. "I'm really sorry I shouldn't have done that."

Sasuke let out a slight grunt jumping off the water tower landing in front of Naruto. He looked Naruto up and down making sure he was alright. "What's wrong?"

That shocked the Uzumaki he had seriously been expecting Sasuke to scream at him for being an idiot but Sasuke was legitimately concerned for him. Sasuke scoffed, "Don't act so surprised dobe, something was clearly bothering you. So what happened?"

Naruto began to explain the incident with Sakura's dad again for the second time that day. It wasn't until Naruto finished the story that he saw the anger in his brother's eyes.

Sasuke knew that even though the man disrespected Naruto there wasn't anything he could do about it. Being a ninja there were rules that they had to follow one of which being that they could never attack a civilian.

Sasuke took a deep breath before he explained, "Naruto I know that I tease you about flirting with Sakura but you know I would never act on those jokes. And she may not be there yet but just wait and she will open up to you."

Naruto feeling his emotions well up in him he wrapped Sasuke in a brief hug eliciting a groan from the Uchiha. "Don't ruin the moment dobe." Sasuke grumbled.


	11. One Meets Nine

At this point in the day Obito wanted nothing more than to fall onto his couch and sleep, but the ANBU waiting for him had other plans. "The Hokage wishes to speak with you Lord Uchiha."

Obito took the scroll nodding at the ANBU he recognized, "Thank you Tenzo." He knew saying his name would garner him a response from the younger ninja.

If it bothered him the ANBU didn't show it before jumping away quickly.

Obito unrolled the scroll and was not the least bit excited for what he read inside.

XXXX

Naruto and Sasuke were walking through the village when without looking Naruto bumped into a man wearing a full black suit with face paint on and what appeared to be cat ears on his head.

The painted man turned around looking at Naruto, "And just who do you think you are brat?" The man said picking the blonde up from his collar.

Sasuke quickly got into position behind the painted man holding a kunai to his throat. "Drop him make up." Sasuke snarled at the ninja.

Sasuke did not notice though that another ninja was with him who put a kunai to Sasuke's throat. "I'd put that away little boy; you could poke in eye out with that thing."

She did not realize however that a kunai was put to her own throat, "Why don't we all let go." Sakura said with an intense glare that was met by the female blonde. "I've had a really shitty day so if you don't want to see the inside of your own throat I highly recommend you and your teammate stand down."

The mystery ninja grinded her teeth, angry at herself for being outsmarted by these brats. "Kankuro let him go."

The ninja now revealed to be Kankuro groaned dropping Naruto on his bottom. "I had it under control Temari." The hooded ninja said turning around and seeing a sneering Sasuke who was putting his kunai away.

"You're all pathetic." A voice said, and everyone's heads turned to a tree branch where a red headed boy was standing looking at them with a disinterested glare.

Naruto was looking at the boy curious as to why everyone else seemed to be scared of him. That is until the red headed ninja turned his attention solely onto Naruto.

"What is your name?" He asked with a crazy look forming in his eyes. Sasuke and Sakura were both falling into combat stances not sure who these people were, they had both noticed they all bore the Sand symbol on their clothes but why would Sand ninja be here?

Naruto stood up looking at the red haired boy, "It's rude to ask someone's name without telling them your own." Naruto was smirking being able to use the manners that Rin had pushed on him since he was little.

The final ninja just looked at the blonde haired ninja beneath him, he could feel mother being repulsed by him. Not in the same way mother hated and loathed everyone else, mother almost seemed fearful. "I am Gaara of the Sand. Now tell me your name."

Naruto pounded his fist onto his chest, he couldn't explain it but being near this Gaara made him feel in control. "I am Naruto Uzumaki!" He said with his overconfident grin plastered onto his face.

Gaara nodded at this, "Why is Mother repulsed by you Uzumaki?" The question was simple but it made everyone else confused, the Sand Siblings because the only things they thought Shukaku felt were hate and anger.

Without realizing it Naruto's eyes became slitted as red overtook the blue. Sasuke's eyes widened in fear, he knew what it meant when Naruto's eyes became red, he also was familiar with the Kyuubi chakra that would usually leak out of Naruto's body, but now it all seemed so collected. If Sasuke had to put this into words he would compare it to the way an alpha wolf behaved around the betas.

Sakura gasped for a moment worried that Naruto was in trouble, until sand seemed to surround Gaara when he quickly reappeared on the other side of the other Sand ninja, "Temari, Kankuro, we're leaving." He said as he walked away.

Once the Sand ninjas were out of sight Sakura turned to Naruto who seemed to hold himself differently, his eyes while no longer red were still slitted. "Naruto are you ok?" She asked worried about her teammate.

Once Naruto's gaze shifted to his teammates his pupils took on their normal rounded shape. "Of course Sakura why wouldn't I be?"

Naruto smiled closing his eyes until he felt a weight hit his chest, when he opened them he saw Sakura holding onto him crying. Naruto looked around for Sasuke to help but the Uchiha had made himself scarce.

Naruto was kind of confused for why Sakura was crying on his chest, "Are you ok Sakura, did you get hurt?"

Hearing that Naruto was more worried about her than himself her crying continued. "I'm so sorry Naruto." Was all she could force out between sobs and sniffles.

Naruto quickly became confused, what did she have to be sorry for? "Sorry for what Sakura?" Naruto asked putting his hand on her chin getting her to look up at him.

She didn't want to look at him right now she felt ashamed of everything, "For what my father said."

Naruto tensed up and it was not missed by Sakura. He racked his brain for what he should say next, he knew he had to be careful here but he was never someone that could be considered tactful.

So instead all he did was wrap his arms around her, "It's ok Sakura, thank you."

XXXX

Sasuke was watching the scene from a nearby rooftop with the white haired Sanin. Sasuke reached his arm out. "Pay up."

Jiraiya angrily reached for the amount he had bet Sasuke about whether or not the kid would panic or not.

Sasuke smugly pocketed the money before walking away.

XXXX

Obito stood in a room filled with jonin. Himself, Asuma, Kurenai and Gai were all standing right in front of the Hokage. Obito knew this was coming and he assumed the others shared his worry that perhaps their genin weren't quite ready. But when he decided to take the three best of their class he had promised results.

"You all know why I have called you here." The Hokage said eyeing each Jonin individually. "You may now state whether your team will be participating in this year's Chunin exams.

Gai stepped forward first, "My team of youthful genin would jump at the opportunity to prove their youth by attaining the rank of Chunin."

Obito stepped forward next, "Team 7 will participate." He took a step back before whispering to Gai, "That's all you had to say."

Asuma stepped forward next, "Team 10 will be participating." The eye contact made between father and son would have shown even those who weren't elite ninja that there was a strain in that relationship.

Kurenai stepped forward last, "Team 8 will participate." She took a step back she felt that her team would pass easily. With three future clan heads how could she not, she respected Asuma's team because they all had the same status but her team was clearly better suited for most mission types.

Hiruzen nodded at the jonin in front of him as each was handed three forms that the genin would have signed by their guardians.

XXXX

Obito walked back through the doors of his house and found the entire family plus Sakura all sitting at the table talking. Sasuke noticed the forms first and smiled excited.

But when Rin saw the forms her face got very serious, "You better be joking Obito." He had hoped he would be able to talk to Rin alone rather than what was currently happening.

Obito sighed, "They're ready Rin, hell they're more ready than we were."

Rin wanted to counter but as a retired ninja she could see the skill they all possessed was more than enough. But her big sister instincts knew how gruesome the test could be. She crossed her arms, the universal Rin sign that she had conceded.

Sasuke smiled glad he could prove himself. Naruto on the other hand was jumping up and down earning a disapproving look from Sakura who grabbed him by the back of his shirt pulling him into the chair directly next to hers. "Sit down baka!"

Naruto held his smile waiting for Obito to give him the papers. With a proud smile on his face Obito handed them all their papers to which Naruto and Sasuke immediately turned to Rin for her to sign.

Sakura just stared at her own paper, she knew it meant she would have to ask her father to do something for her and right now she didn't want to see him.

Obito saw the look in Sakura's eyes, "If you want Sakura you can spend the night here and we can all celebrate." He decided to play it off as a fun idea rather than one formed from pity. He was going to have a talk with Rin about that tonight.

Sakura's eyes lit up hearing that. "That would be awesome thankyou sensei!"

Rin not missing a beat shot Obito a look then turned to Naruto in a way that Sakura would not see, mouthing out "If anything happens with you two…" She then used her hands to gesture two things in one hand and then the other hands were a pair of scissors that cut the two things.

Naruto getting the point turned back to Obito paler than he was before. When Obito spoke up, "You can crash in the guest room." He said smiling because he saw Rin's little hand puppet show.


	12. A Lesson In Pain

Sasuke was sitting in the living room slowly falling asleep while everyone talked about the goings on in the village before Sasuke slipped into unconsciousness.

XXXX

Sasuke was again running through the Uchiha district past all of the bodies when he rounded the corner and he saw Itachi standing there holding Naruto by his coat sliding a kunai on Naruto's throat dropping him again once the light left his eyes.

Sasuke stamped his feet before screaming, "No more Itachi, I won't let you hurt anyone ever again. Sasuke quickly realized that this time he wasn't his younger self he stood before his brother in full genin gear when he felt the curse mark on his shoulder burn dropping him to his knees.

Sasuke pushed past the pain and the marks began to spread across his entire body and he felt the surge of chakra. He quickly did the hand signs as his hand became encased in lightning. "Never again!" Sasuke yelled as he charged Chidori in hand aimed straight for Itachi's heart.

As Sasuke's attack met Itachi's heart he could feel the heart burst from the lightning, he saw Itachi's eyes shift into that sickly yellow again. "Ku, ku, ku Sasuke, good!" Suddenly Itachi's body shifted and morphed until he looked like Orochimaru. "Use my power Sasuke!"

XXXX

Naruto was beginning to panic looking at Sasuke the curse mark had begun to cover his friend's body Rin was trying to treat him with medical jutsus but she was having no luck, nothing they could do would wake him up.

Sakura tried pulling Naruto away so Rin could have some space but the blond refused to budge.

Sasuke's eyes shot open and Naruto went to check on him. It was clear Sasuke was out of breath as the curse mark began to recede onto his neck. He looked around and saw everyone standing over him. He tried to return to his usual calm demeanor but he could feel his heart was beating a mile a minute.

Rin could feel the chakra from the curse mark return to its resting place, she took a glance at Obito and saw that he had paled from what he saw.

XXXX

After getting the genin to bed Obito sat in his room looking at the headband he wore, the memories of that night flashing in his mind, all ending with that clash with Kakashi. Obito knew how he was able to win their fight and push him back. He discovered it a few weeks later.

XXXX

 _Obito was sitting in his room fiddling with Kakashi's old head band. He knew everyone was trying to cheer him up hell Rin had even moved all her stuff into his small two bed room apartment and refused to sleep in the other room just to keep an eye on him._

 _This was the one of the first moments he had alone since then. Usually Rin would take him out somewhere just to keep him busy because the Hokage had deemed it that Obito needed time off after the attack. And if he weren't with Rin Gai would come by and get him into some crazy exercise that Obito attempted halfheartedly rarely completing the challenge._

 _So now he was sitting in his room just running his hand over Kakashi's headband. He stood up and walked over to the mirror taking his goggles off along with his own headband. He tied Kakashi's to his own head looking at it. He activated his Sharingan like he normally did by pumping chakra into his eyes but they did not stop changing after they were in their three tomoe state. Instead they began to extend and then immediately diverge into a different direction._

 _Panicking Obito reached for the other mirror on the dresser that Rin had brought with her but when he was about to get it to eye level it slipped out of his hands crashing to the ground. Obito tried to pick up the pieces but his hand kept going into the ground. But whenever he pulled his hands away he saw no damage._

 _Pulling all the chakra out of his eyes Obito realized he was solid again so he started cleaning everything up._

 _After the clean up as much as he hated to do it he had to go to the other Uchiha to figure out what was happening._

 _XXXX_

 _Obito sat in the chamber Fugaku always met with people about clan business in. Fugaku entered the room his face the usual stone expression it always had, but he was followed in by the boy Obito recognized as little Itachi._

 _"_ _Well what is this about Obito?" He began, "I thought you wanted nothing to do with our clan. If it's about money you can forget it, you left the compound and therefore gave up your rights to anything here."_

 _Obito took a breath, "Uchiha sir, it's not about money." Obito made eye contact with the scowling Uchiha before turning on his Sharingan just as before he couldn't stop its transition and it shifted into its alternate form._

 _Seeing this Fugaku dismissed Itachi with a hand. After the boy left Fugaku seemed to almost relax. "I see. Do you know what that is Obito?" Fugaku asked earning a no nod from Obito. "You have obtained a power very few members of our clan have ever possessed. But I would be remiss if I did not ask you, who had to die?"_

 _Obito was shocked with that question, "What do you mean?"_

 _Fugaku took a breath, he had not expected Obito to understand it which made him think at least Obito didn't kill anyone intentionally. "I know my old friend Minato was your sensei and he died in the attack; is that when your mangekyo formed?"_

 _Suddenly it made sense to Obito he fell through Kakashi, it was right when he had made peace with the idea of having to kill him to stop him. "No sir, I just realized when it happened."_

 _Fugaku realized that everyone had their secrets, but this one he just may have to share with the lad. He shut his eyes opening them to reveal his Sharingan also had changed his seemed to be a shuriken blade with a dot at each of the three blades._

 _"_ _I too possess the mangekyo Obito. But I wish I did not. In order to obtain this amazing power, you must lose the person closest to you." Fugaku said closing his eyes returning it to their normal onyx color._

 _Obito sighed, "How do I at least use just my normal Sharingan then?"_

 _Fugaku actually chuckled something Obito had never seen him do before. "Simply lessen the amount of chakra you put into them and it should work itself out."_

 _Obito did as he was told and his Sharingan returned to its normal state. Fugaku spoke up again, "I do advise caution with this gift. You are one of two people who are aware I possess mangekyo I will keep your secret but I do ask you do the same." Obito nodded, "And another word of warning. Using the mangekyo will damage your eyesight so I recommend you only use it when it is absolutely necessary."_

 _Obito again nodded, "Thank you Lord Uchiha I am grateful for the advice and your discretion."_

 _Right before Obito was about to stand to leave Fugaku spoke one more time, "It does come at a price though." He waited to make sure Obito was listening, "When the time comes I want you to be the one to train my second son Sasuke."_

 _Obito seeing that wasn't a difficult request nodded his agreement and stood up and left._

 _As Obito was about to open the door he heard the cry of a baby coming from the other side of the door. Confused Obito opened the door and saw Rin standing in the living room looking like she just got caught doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing._

 _She gave him a smile, "Promise you won't get mad?"_


	13. A Change In Fate

_Obito sat on the couch staring off into space with shock written all over his face. Rin sat in the opposite chair holding a finally calm baby Naruto. "What are you thinking?" Rin asked hoping he would say something._

 _"_ _So you got a baby?" Obito said the panic not leaving his face, "Did we get married when I wasn't paying attention? How long was I gone today?"_

 _Rin stood up holding the baby and giving Obito 'The Look' "Obito this is Naruto Uzumaki."_

 _Hearing the name Obito snapped out of it for a moment, he took a closer look at the baby and noticed the blonde hair. "I thought he died." Obito was now torn on one hand he was glad that his sensei's baby had survived but apparently Rin had decided they were the best parents in the whole village._

 _Rin seeing the panic coming back onto her boyfriend's face, "Just look at his face Obito." Willing to give it a shot Obito took a real hard look at Naruto but his eyes were quickly drawn the babies cheeks._

 _At that moment Obito felt a rage he had never felt before, even worse than the time Rin had been kidnapped by Stone ninjas could never compare to the hate he felt in his heart. "Rin I will be back."_

 _Rin was about to say something when Obito turned around and silently left the_

 _apartment._

 _XXXX_

 _Hiruzen sat in the office he had never thought would be his own again. He had hoped that he had escaped the curse of the Hokage, to die in office. But unfortunately Minato had to suffer that curse. With a long sigh he sat down just as a knock was heard on the door. "Come in."_

 _The door opened and one of the Hokage's oldest friends Danzo entered the room. "Well under normal circumstances I would congratulate you on your appointment as Hokage but seeing as I didn't do it the last time I see no reason to start now."_

 _Hiruzen chuckled, he had known Danzo for a long time and his sense of humor took some getting used to, but over the years Hiruzen was able to figure it out._

 _Again a knock was heard at the door but before Hiruzen could respond the door burst open and in the doorway stood Obito Uchiha his Sharingan activated. As he took a step he was immediately surrounded by ANBU agents, the Uchiha wasn't even fazed by them._

 _"_ _What is the meaning of this Uchiha?" Danzo said not doing much to hide his dislike of the current situation._

 _Obito realizing that all the people in the room had the top level clearance decided that he could speak his mind. "Why wasn't I told that the baby survived?"_

 _Hiruzen suddenly felt like his veins had turned to ice. He really had hoped that would have stayed a secret to everyone, he had no doubt that Danzo knew. That would explain his interest in the newborn Jinchuuriki. "How did you find out about that?"_

 _Obito scoffed at that, "It wasn't hard, for Kami sakes you named him Uzumaki! He even has Sensei's hair. Now I want to know about what happened to him."_

 _Hiruzen dreaded that this conversation was a possibility. He then began to tell Obito how a mob had found Naruto and discovered what he was and attacked the orphanage where he was and gave him the scars._

 _Hearing it explained to him didn't help too calm Obito's rage when he heard Danzo speak up. "That reason is exactly why I suggested the child be brought into the ROOT program."_

 _Obito snapped at the older man. "Do it and you die!" Obito knew about the ROOT program and hated everything about it. From the fact that it rips out the emotions of its members and were basically Danzo's trained soldiers._

 _Danzo stared down Obito right in front of him. No one had blatantly threatened him like that since the Second War, he wouldn't admit it but he actually felt the beginnings of respect for the young man._

 _"_ _Calm down Obito, I had already declined Danzo's offer." Hiruzen said worried that the two could start problems for him his first month back in office. "Now I see here that little Naruto had already been taken in by Rin Nohara." Hiruzen was hard pressed to not smile at the thought that at least Naruto was going to a good family._

 _Obito realizing that he had gotten caught in the Hokage's game to protect Naruto from Danzo. "I guess that I will take Naruto into my own home." He turned looking at Danzo, "And he will never be a part of your filthy organization."_

 _Again Danzo felt the odd combination of hate and respect for the young Uchiha in front of him. "I advise caution Uchiha, but I suppose putting the Nine Tails under the care of an Uchiha is a wise decision."_

 _Obito again turned to the older man, "His name is Naruto, he is not the Nine Tails!" Not for a moment deactivating his Sharingan._

 _XXXX_

 _Obito walked back into his apartment and saw Rin rocking Naruto and humming to him. If he hadn't already made up his mind about keeping Naruto, the sight in front of him would have done it for him._

 _Rin saw Obito walk back into the room, she could tell that he had calmed down and he looked at her with nothing but kindness that made her blush. "So where did you go?" She asked attempting to hide her blush._

 _Obito walked into the room and sat next to Rin on the couch not taking his eyes off of Naruto. "I spoke to Lord Hokage and told him that Naruto will be staying with us."_

 _Hearing that Rin lit up excited immediately before her mind started racing with all the things she would have to get ready to have a baby in the house._

 _Obito smiled at Rin as she began to ramble off the list of things they would need for the house including converting the other bed room into a nursery._

XXXX

Obito was sitting in his room in the house after the incident with Sasuke's curse mark activating in his sleep. He couldn't help but think that he could have saved Sasuke, he had failed to save Kakashi but this time he was worried he was losing Sasuke.

Rin walked into their room and saw Obito deep in thought, a thing that up until recently was absolutely unheard of. Usually he was like Naruto bouncing off the walls, and spouting his excitement about how awesome he was.

She took her seat beside him and rested her head against his shoulder, this being the first time Obito noticed her in the room he jolted briefly before his eyes rested on the top of her head. "Tell me honestly Rin, is there more I could have done for them?"

Rin knew that he was talking about both Kakashi and Sasuke, it had been 13 years since Kakashi left and Obito always blamed himself for it. "You have always done everything you possibly could," She craned her neck to look him in the eyes. "And for that I will always love you."

Obito smiled and pulled her into a tender embrace as their lips met Rin let out a quiet moan.

XXXX

Sasuke woke up in the morning getting probably the best sleep he had gotten in years, he looked at the window and saw the light coming through and could hear the birds chirping outside. He groggily got out of bed putting on enough clothes to appear decent because he knew Sakura was still at the house.

He walked into the living room and saw Sakura quietly eating a rice ball and saw Rin humming in the kitchen. He had learned a few years back what Rin humming while cooking meant, so with a groan he joined Sakura in the living room.

Sakura smiled at her teammate, "Good morning Sasuke, I hope you slept well."

Sasuke returned with a grunt, "Dobe awake yet?" Sasuke said earning a giggle from Sakura.

"No the baka is still out like a light." She said returning to her rice ball.


	14. Enter The Exams

Team 7 was on their way to the forest of death after having completed the first test where Naruto was able to bolster the morale of the other Chunin hopefuls in the room. Naruto walked with a big grin plastered on his face, Sasuke with his hands in his pockets looking disinterested, and finally Sakura who was looking at the different villages she could see.

Sasuke was looking for Team 8 he hadn't seen them leave the exam room so he assumed that Hinata's team had made it. His doubts were erased the next moment when he heard Hinata talking with her team deciding it was safe he broke away from Naruto and Sakura.

Sasuke saw her talking with another boy who was also clearly a Hyuuga, "Lady Hinata why not just give up now? It is clear that your technique is insufficient to be considered for the Chunin rank." This slightly confused Sasuke he could tell this boy was a branch member because they all always wore something across their forehead to cover their seal. The weird thing though was that usually the branch members kissed up to Hinata worse than Naruto to Rin when he was really hungry.

"Can it Neji." Hinata barked back, "All your talk about destiny and shit is just going to hold you back." She smiled a knowing grin, "Maybe if you calmed down a bit that cute little thing on your team would help get that stick out of your ass."

With a grunt Neji walked away, "If I see your little Uchiha play toy out there I will show him why he should never mess with a Hyuuga."

Sasuke having heard enough spoke up, "And why is that?" The question was simple but Neji's answer was even more so.

"Because your eyes are inferior." Came Neji's response he didn't even turn around after saying it.

Sasuke stood next to Hinata, "You good?" He asked still not looking at her, he knew she could take care of herself but not asking would make him seem like an ass.

Hinata scoffed, "He's just pissy that I made it just as far as him."

XXXX

Naruto and Sakura were sitting together under a tree waiting for things to get started with the survival portion of the test. Sakura of course realized that she may have been the only member of her team nervous about what they would face in there. Naruto being the stamina machine he was allowed him to go own for very long periods of time without sleep, she stopped herself before those thoughts drifted into the adult realm.

Naruto was simply smiling like an oblivious idiot, he still always acted the same way when Sakura just sat next to him, sure he would sit next to her whenever he had the chance but for her to be the one to sit next to him made him feel special.

XXXX

Team 7 had been in the forest for over an hour already, they had yet to see anyone. They had all decided to go for Sasuke's plan and head straight for the tower taking out anyone they came across hoping they would have the earth scroll they needed. If by the time they reached the tower they still did not have the other scroll they would lie in wait to ambush another team.

XXXX

Obito sat in the lounge with the other Jonin sensei's, Asuma was smoking a cigarette even though it was obvious that it upset Kurenai who was scowling at her… something. Gai was pacing back and forth in the room talking about youth and how his team will prove themselves as great ninja.

Figuring waiting here gained him nothing he decided that he would go and find Rin and see what she was doing. The first place he checked was the hospital, he found out that she wasn't there so he went home to try and find her.

XXXX

Rin was sitting on the couch reading one of her guilty pleasures, 'Make out Tactics' she had been reading them for years ever since they found a small collection inside Kakashi's apartment after cleaning it out. She quickly realized that the story structure that Lord Jiraiya used was very compelling, that didn't mean however that she ignored the lewder portions of the books. She still found it funny that with three boys in the house none of them had ever caught her.

That changed however when Obito opened the front door and saw into the living room what Rin was reading. He just looked at her for a few seconds blinking a bit too fast. Before a goofy smile spread on his face, "You're a pervert." He pointed at her, "I'm going to go tell Anko." Obito knew out of all Rin's friends Anko would most likely tease her the most. He knew Anko read the books too but she was open about herself, Rin on the other hand could be called prude without fear of being wrong.

"Obito Uchiha if you tell anyone no sex for a month!" Rin shouted at her husband who was about to walk back out before turning around his sly grin still not leaving his face.

"Sweeten the pot." He said doing his best to impersonate Jiraiya and his hand gestures when perving.

Rin was worried this would happen, so she picked the book up and walked back to her bed room leaving the door open for Obito who followed without question skipping his way into the room.

XXXX

Naruto and Sasuke stood panting as the Sound Ninja that had surrounded them began to inch closer, Sakura was already off fighting their kunoichi leaving the other two for the boys. Unfortunately, aside from knowing that the bandaged ninja used his strange gauntlet to somehow incapacitate his enemies they had no idea how their abilities worked beyond that.

Zaku dove at Naruto hoping to gain the numbers advantage, but the blond was ready for the fight to enter the one on one style. He knew that he and Sasuke could work very well together but that was usually against one stronger opponent.

Sasuke felt the burning on his shoulder continue to grow, he knew what it meant and he was terrified of it. Just as Dosu was about to strike the burning in Sasuke's shoulder became unbearable as the black markings crawled over his face, Sasuke was able to notice the shocked look on his enemy's face. Feeling the surge of power and seeing that his opponent was off balance he took his opportunity throwing the hand signs for the jutsu he had seen Kakashi use to try and kill Naruto.

Dosu didn't know what had happened first he saw that his target possessed the curse mark, he had sparred with Jirobo when he used the curse seal, if Kabuto hadn't been in the room he would have died. But now he felt funny looking down at the blazing red eyes of the Sharingan and if he looked down a bit farther he saw that his chest was bleeding, and Sasuke was elbow deep inside his stomach.

Sasuke grinned a sadistic grin because he knew that blow may not be enough to kill him but it would most likely cause him agonizing pain. "You tried to attack the people I care about; I will never let that happen again!" Sasuke screamed as the electricity spread across Dosu's body making him feel like his every cell was being stabbed by a senbon.

Naruto and Dosu Zaku stopped their fight watching the other Sound ninja in extraordinary agony. Zaku most of all was scared of what was happening until he realized that Naruto was holding a kunai to the Sound ninja's throat. "Give me the scroll right now or I will give you half that."

XXXX

Naruto brought his captive to the center of the clearing where Sasuke stood over Dosu who was still bleeding out from the massive hole in his gut. Naruto realizing that Sakura had yet to return from her fight, began to scan the battlefield quickly. "Sakura where are you?" Naruto was doing his best to hold back the coming panic.

Without warning the Sound Kunoichi returned holding an unconscious Sakura by the hair. "Stupid bitch working so hard to look this good, maybe if she had spent more time training than preening she may have been able to win."

Sasuke was about to use his additional power to save Sakura when she woke up bringing a kunai and cutting off her hair pressing the shock that she had caused in her opponent she spun around imbedding the kunai into the arm of the Kunoichi. "I believe my teammate said give us your scroll." Zaku reached for his pouch slowly and pulled out the scroll dropping it on the ground.

"There you have it so just let us go." Zaku said as he felt the sweat falling down his cheek.

Naruto picked up the scroll and let the remaining sound ninja go. After they were all out of earshot he spun on his heels to look at Sasuke who had a far off look in his eyes. "Sasuke are you good for the rest of us to get to the tower?"

Snapping out of it Sasuke looked at the other members of his team as he felt the markings return to their normal place on his shoulder. "Let's get moving." Sasuke said turning away from the others to the direction of the tower.


	15. A Bloody Preliminary

Obito walked into the large room all that the preliminary fights would happen, with a big goofy grin on his face. Part of him was happy that his team hadn't made it yet because they would know the meaning behind his grin. Gai of course took this as Obito embracing 'the power of youth'.

It didn't take long before an exhausted Team 7 came in, Obito smiled seeing that they were allowed into this room meant that they had made it this far. He still had the stinking suspicion that they would need a preliminary fight.

His mind started running a mile a minute on who would be the best to be paired against. He really hoped they would all be forced to fight against another Leaf ninja because he knew from experience that matches against ninjas from the same villages had the lowest mortality rates. And with everything that has been happening with the three of them he was actually more worried about them killing someone else here.

Because he had seen it before where other ninjas were able to move on from a kill when it was life or death, but when it's a sparring match it ends up feeling much more different. He was afraid that the stress from the survival portion of the exams coupled with the straining group dynamic would be too much for them to stay cool. Of course by all that he meant Naruto and Sasuke, he doubted Sakura would ever kill someone if she didn't have to.

Naruto barreled over to Obito grinning from ear to ear with pride that they had made it that far but once he had put some distance between himself and the rest of his team his face became very serious. Obito immediately matched the blond knowing whatever conversation they were about to have would be very serious.

Naruto quickly ran through everything that had happened with Sasuke to Obito, but not being skilled in seals he was unsure as to what he should do in this situation. Sasuke had the seal protection that Anko had put on him, and he thought that would be enough to hold it back, she had been doing it for years without much difficulty.

He had decided that he would wait until after the preliminaries but first he needed to talk to Sasuke alone. When Obito spotted his fellow Uchiha he was in the middle of a conversation with Hinata Hyuuga.

Obito made his way over to his student and once Sasuke saw him approaching he told Hinata they would talk later before he met his sensei half way. "What is it Obito?"

The tone he asked shocked Obito. Sasuke rarely spoke that dismissively to other people especially Obito. "Sasuke I'm going to wait until after the preliminaries until we do anything about that curse mark but you have to promise me you won't use it."

Sasuke nodded he knew that using the curse mark with this many people watching would always be a problem. He felt torn because the power he felt when he was using the mark was almost intoxicating. But he had heard Obito's story about how this mark claimed his best friend.

He looked back to Naruto who was laughing and joking around with Team 10 while Sakura was getting her hair fixed by Ino. He knew that he didn't want to hurt them, he saw how Obito and Rin were truly hurt by losing their friend. So he vowed he would do absolutely anything to prevent them from feeling any pain.

Obito watched Sasuke and wondered to himself if Team 7 would end better than his own team.

XXXX

As the preliminaries began the names began to scramble and the first names to pop up read Sasuke Uchiha and Neji Hyuuga. A gasp was heard from the Hyuuga heiress; she had hoped this specific fight would not happen.

XXXX

The two prodigies stood on opposite sides of the arena staring at one another. Obito watched intently knowing that Neji's taijutsu would allow Sasuke few mistakes. But he knew Sasuke's Sharingan would allow him to prevent injury, luckily his taijutsu style allowed for quick sharp attacks.

The two opponents both rushed at the other their eyes using their respective abilities. Sasuke knew that his shuriken would be all but useless in this fight even if he managed to get behind Neji. So he decided to keep the fight upfront and simple, they met with a quick clash where they both tried to throw a punch but both dodged the attack giving both boys an opportunity to put some space between them.

Neji noticing the Uchiha sticking to taijutsu was a clear mistake so he began to push his eyes farther until he saw the different chakra that did not belong to the Uchiha. "I can see you are going to avoid using ninjutsu. You might as well give up now, you Uchiha even at your height relied on your skills with ninjutsu, and I know for a fact you are no exception. And I can see you are not going to use them." Neji took his stance with a knowing smile.

Sasuke really had to work on not showing that Neji's words were getting to him. Normally his response would be to insult the Hyuuga but he knew that Hinata was spectating the fight and any insult aimed at the family would hurt her too.

So he decided that insults wouldn't get him far until he heard shouting coming from the stands. "You shut your mouth, you arrogant ass!" Naruto screamed leaning over the railing. "Sasuke you kick his ass or I'm going to kick yours."

Feeling his moment to strike would be now Sasuke charged forward this time wanting to end the fight quickly. He jumped at his opponent, the two began to exchange attacks neither landing a solid strike. Until Sasuke saw Neji favoring one of his legs so he focused his Sharingan and saw that he had a deep cut on his right leg that he must have suffered during the survival portion.

Sasuke pressing his advantage began to shift to Neji's right lining himself up to use a jutsu knowing the Hyuuga would not be expecting it. After knowing that Neji couldn't turn to get away from the attack Sasuke ran through the hand signs: Rat, Tiger, Dog, Ox, Hare, Tiger "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" As he shot out each individual fireball he hid shuriken inside of them as they charged at Neji.

The Hyuuga prodigy had not been expecting it, so he tried backing away from the attacks but his ankle gave as he stepped back and he fell to the ground. Everyone in the room subconsciously leaned forward at the C Rank jutsu closing in on the genin on his back.

"Give up Hyuuga!" Sasuke yelled at Neji but still knew the boy's pride wouldn't let him give up.

As the first fireball hit the boy the screams that were heard chilled everyone in the room. Most of the genin had never heard something like that, the more experienced in the room had a haunting reminder of the sounds they used to hear in the war.

Sasuke ran over to see Neji with severe burns on his body as he tried to get to his feet before collapsing on the ground. The proctor ran over to Neji and signaled for the medics to enter the room. With the exception of their feet hitting the floor there wasn't a single sound in the room.

XXXX

After the medics escorted Neji out of the room Sasuke silently walked back up the stairs and stood beside Naruto who for once in his life was able to read the room and be silent.

XXXX

The names began to spin again as a few matches went through with little of excitement happening. Shikamaru won his match by outsmarting his opponent because she had no idea how his jutsu works. Shino defeated his opponent by using his bugs to flank while he moved in with a kunai getting a surrender.

XXXX

The names flashed again when it said Ino Yamanaka Vs Sakura Haruno, Naruto's eyes widened, he knew Sakura and Ino were best friends at one point but had drifted apart, he just wasn't sure of the reason.

The two girls started the fight both moving their headbands into place on their foreheads, Naruto had never really thought about it but Sakura and Ino never wore the headbands where they were supposed to. Weren't they supposed to protect your forehead?

The two girls fought in a largely unspectacular fight, Naruto knew Sakura was strong but she was not a very talented fighter, her talents were always with medical jutsu and sadly Rin had refused to teach her the offensive side of the art.

It didn't take long for both girls to be squaring off staring one another down, Ino put her hands into a seal and her body dropped but Sakura's slumped a bit too. Naruto had heard about the Yamanaka's abilities to transfer bodies but he had never seen it before until just now.

He knew that Ino was going to make Sakura surrender he had to speak up, "No Sakura! You can't let her beat you like this you've come so far already!"

Sakura's body began to shake and convulse as the two people inside the one body began to fight for dominance.

In a snap Ino's eyes opened but she was so low on chakra she knew she couldn't go on with the fight. "I give up proctor." Was all she said, she knew her friend had beaten her fair and square but she knew the next time they fought it would have to end differently.

Sakura was quickly losing her footing and was about to fall when she felt herself be picked up. She groggily looked up and saw blue eyes looking into hers before she blacked out from the chakra exhaustion.

XXXX

Naruto walked her back to the spectator's area leaning her against the wall as he sat next to her in case she fell, he also noticed Sasuke sat on the other side of her most likely to watch her as well. Naruto smiled at his friend for helping out who just nodded acknowledging Naruto.

Obito watched his students and smiled, there was no way these three would be splitting up with the way they all cared for one another, Naruto was there to catch Sakura before the Jonin even realized she was falling. He chuckled seeing so much of himself in Naruto he was almost a carbon copy. Except he and Rin had given Naruto a family to grow up with.

The name machine again spun away and it read, Naruto Uzumaki Vs Gaara of the Sand. Obito was worried about this, he had been briefed on the status of Gaara, but in that same aspect so had the Sand Jonin on Naruto's. They had both agreed that they would not say anything to either boy but both figured the boys would figure it out.

XXXX

Naruto stood across from the other boy that weird feeling of control again coming over his body. He felt stronger and more confident when he was near this weird guy; so Naruto decided to dismiss the feeling for now and just move on.

When the match started Naruto charged at Gaara creating as many shadow clones as he could to test the red head in his abilities. He even shocked himself at how many he had sent out, he didn't even think this many appeared when he fought Mizuki.

Obito was shocked at the number of clones Naruto had created but he refused to show his shock because he could feel the eyes of the other Jonin on him trying to gauge his reaction. Obito always worried about Naruto's extreme chakra levels that were able to dwarf his already. He saw how the clones surrounding the sand ninja were one by one taken out as the sand impaled every one of them.

He noticed how Naruto just held the hand sign and did not move just holding eye contact with his opponent. Both boys stared intently at one another as their chakra related abilities squared off.

Naruto didn't fully understand what was happening but he felt the need to speak, "Stand down sand spirit." He said the words so calmly that he actually shocked himself.

Suddenly both boys released the hold they had on their chakra as Gaara's sand fell all of Naruto's clones disappeared. Gaara turned to the proctor, "I give up." Was all he said before walking back up to his team the both of which had just dropped their jaws on the floor in shock.

Naruto smiled smugly at his victory as he walked back to his spot in the stands. The rest of the fights were very simple with Rock Lee demolishing Choji, Tenten losing to Temari, and Kankuro getting a pass.

XXXX

Sakura started to wake up when she realized that both of her teammates were sitting next to her, she blushed at the feeling of being cared for in the same way they watched over one another when they slept. She turned to Naruto who had not noticed that she had woken up and was currently watching the fights.

She really had to think to herself was she falling for him this fast? She knew all she had to do was say the word and Naruto was hers but she didn't want that if she wasn't absolutely sure. She didn't want to ruin their friendship or even the team dynamic.

She snaked her hand into Naruto's who turned to her with his big toothy smile that she tried to imitate to get a laugh out of him. She figured she really did fall for that big goof.

XXXX

After all the fights the remaining fighters stood before The Hokage, who looked at each remaining.

Shikamaru Nara: For all intents and purposes he is a genius. Possibly the smartest man in the room, he was able to outsmart his opponent by luring them into his jutsu and was going to use his control over them to stab them.

Naruto Uzumaki: It was really no surprise that the blond won his fight, just the manner in which he won was odd. Gaara didn't seem to be pushed that hard but he quit just because Naruto told him to. The scary thing was that Naruto called referred to him as "Sand Spirit", did Naruto know the secret that Gaara kept sealed away inside himself?

Temari of the Sand: There wasn't much he could say about this fight, she absolutely destroyed her opponent, Hiruzen couldn't remember seeing a more mismatched fight. Her abilities with wind jutsus put her above and beyond the usual standards for a genin.

Hinata Hyuuga: Her ability with her family fighting style is clearly something she has trained hard with and it gave her an easy win against her opponent.

Sakura Haruno: Her fight interested him greatly because he had never seen someone break a Yamanaka jutsu that quickly, from what he could tell Ino performed it perfectly which should have given her the win, but then Naruto spoke up and she was able to force Ino out.

Sasuke Uchiha: He grimaced thinking about that fight, since it was the most gruesome fight, and the first it set a dangerous precedent for the others to follow. Luckily it seemed to bother most of them so no one else went for deadly accuracy. Still he was able to press an enemy for their own weakness and because the Hyuuga did not expect any ninjutsu from him.

Shino Aburame: The fight was quick and simple military tactics, surround the enemy with superior numbers and they would not be able to adapt.

Kankuro: The young man was given a pass out of sheer luck.

Rock Lee: The spitting image of Might Gai used his superior taijutsu to beat his opponent into submission quickly. Hiruzen could still tell the boy hadn't even gone full out because his weights were on and it was likely Gai taught him how to open the eight gates.

XXXX

Finally, after thinking about all the combatants he spoke. "I would like to congratulate every one of you for making it to the finals. Since the finals are such a big deal for perspective clients we will hold them one month from now at the arena. So I recommend taking the time leading up to the finals to prepare yourselves for the challenges ahead." With that the Hokage and non-sensei jonins left the room.

Team 7 regrouped with Obito off to the side. "I want you all to know I am incredibly proud of you, this was the only Leaf team to all make it through to the finals. I actually lost at this point my first time." Obito said light heartedly.

Naruto gave a confusing look, "Who did you lose to Obito?"

Obito laughed and pointed at Gai earning a confused look from his genin. Sasuke smirked, "I forgot you were even more hopeless than dobe here." Which earned him a scowl from both the older Uchiha and the young Uzumaki.

"That being said I can only really train one of you." Obito said trying to cover up his distaste with the situation on having to pick just one of the genin. "Sakura," he said getting the kunoichi's attention. "Rin will be training you personally, she has gotten some time off to work on your combat skills."

Sakura nodded excitedly. Ever since being put on Team 7 she had really looked up to Lady Rin as a big sister, someone she could trust and want to be like.

Obito turned to Naruto, "Naruto you will be trained by Lord Jiraiya, he already told me about how you stole the toad summoning scroll. He has taken a personal interest in you, I assume you know where to find him." Naruto crossed his arms understanding the reasoning but still not liking it.

Finally, Obito turned to Sasuke, "It's going to be just me and you Sasuke." Earning a knowing smirk from the younger Uchiha.


	16. Let the Training Begin

Naruto bounded through the village after getting home and changing into clean clothes he wanted to meet with Jiraiya quickly to find out what his training would be like. It didn't take him long to find the old pervert near his usual waterfall peeking at women playing in the lake.

Naruto again tried to sneak up on the man but as he was about to try and scare the older man he found himself quickly grabbed into a head lock. "You know my last student always enjoyed trying to scare me." The white haired Sanin said holding him as Naruto tried pushing him off. "He only got me once anyway and by that time he was already Hokage."

Naruto stopped pushing him off looking at the old man when realization lit up in his eyes, "You trained the Fourth?"

Jiraiya was glad the kid was able to figure it out without guessing old man Third was his student. "You betcha kid. Now scram I have research to do." He said pushing the boy away.

Naruto looked at the old man who went back to peeping on the women, when he noticed the man drooped his head disappointed. "Great thanks kid their gone." Jiraiya said standing up and gathering his things.

Naruto was confused at this point. "Aren't you supposed to be training me?"

"And what would give you that idea?" Jiraiya asked watching the boy out of the corner of his eye.

"Obito told me that you would train me while he trains Sasuke and Rin trains Sakura."

"No can do kid I've retired from training students." Jiraiya walked away seriously hoping the kid would follow and keep pestering him.

Naruto could feel his anger and jealousy begin to bubble, had Obito just wanted to get rid of Naruto so he could train a true Uchiha without Naruto and Sakura in the way?

"That's not good enough!" Naruto screamed at the Sanin. "I vow to be the greatest student you have ever had." The older man stopped walking but didn't turn around.

"You plan to be even better than the Fourth?"

"By the time I'm Hokage I will be considered the greatest that ever lived; and that's a promise."

Jiraiya smiled to himself before turning around knowing that Minato would be proud of his son.

He turned around with a stern expression, "That's a lot of talk for a pipsqueak like you. But I suppose I could take on one more student.

Naruto smiled he refused at this moment to become over excited he knew that it would ruin the moment.

"So what do you know about sealing?" Jiraiya asked the boy with his most professional voice.

Naruto scratched at his head, "Well I know that seals can hold things in a storage seal, I know that some seals explode…" He paused for a second thinking about if he should mention it or not, deciding that more than likely this man was aware of his status. So he lifted his jacket revealing his stomach. "Also this one holds in Kyuubi."

Jiraiya nodded not showing any change in emotion because he figured that it was a touchy subject for the boy. "That's just the most well-known use for seals." Jiraiya started his lecture. "Most seal experts are able to use them in combat and to make their lives better as a whole."

Naruto nodded along showing he understood. "What kind of seals are used for combat; I'm going to need something to use in the exams.

Jiraiya pulled out a small slip of paper and put it on Naruto's forehead. And suddenly Naruto felt himself get very weak, he tried to reach for the paper but found he was lacking the strength to do that. Just as he was about to fall the old man removed the seal and Naruto felt all of his strength return to him.

"Whoa what was that?" Naruto asked his interest sparked.

Jiraiya grinned, "That was a chakra restriction seal. It completely blocks all your chakra points similar to the fighting style of the Hyuuga only this requires no special eyes or taijutsu style."

Naruto started to reach for the seal in Jiraiya's hand but the Sanin pulled it away. "Sorry kid, this one is mine. You're going to have to learn how to make your own." He handed Naruto a book on seals. "You're going to need to learn everything inside this book. Right now though I want you to show me if you've made any progress with your summoning."

Naruto nodded and went through the hand signs quickly and slammed his palm on the ground as a puff of smoke appeared and a small orange frog was sitting where the summoning had been applied.

"Yo Naruto what's up?" The small toad said waving at the blond summoner.

"Hey Gamakichi, this is pervy sage!" Naruto said pointing at the old man who quickly started steaming frustrated that he was called pervy again.

"Stop calling me that you little brat!" He shouted at the blond who was still kneeling next to Gamakichi.

"If the shoe fits wear it." Naruto said turning back to the toad. "He's going to train me for the Chunin exams in a month.

The toad nodded, "Did you need me for anything bro?"

"Nah he just wanted to see what I could summon." The blond said smiling.

XXXX

After a few hours of testing Naruto's abilities, the Toad Sage wanted to test his more dormant abilities. "Alright Naruto I want to see you use the Kyuubi's chakra."

Naruto paled hearing that, "Rin told me never to use it unless I absolutely had to."

Jiraiya sighed, "Under normal circumstances I would agree with her but right now I think we should test it out."

Naruto nodded and began to push as much of his chakra out at once but got no results. "It's too hard, I can usually only use it when I'm in serious trouble."

Jiraiya assumed that would be the way Minato would set up the seal. He didn't want a toddler to be able to harness the power of the greatest biju at will. "Naruto do you have a special girl in your life?" The old man said leaning down to the boy.

Naruto began to blush and stutter "Maybe I do but that's none of your business."

Jiraiya smiled, "Come on kid, let's go find her."

XXXX

The master and student stood on top of the hospital watching the young women training in the courtyard. Jiraiya spoke up, "So pink huh?" He really didn't know what to say, he was lucky that Minato was able to handle things with Kushina without his help. While Jiraiya knew he had skills with women he also knew that when it really mattered he was useless.

Naruto nodded seemingly in a trance watching the way she moved in a fight, he actually thought she was even more beautiful with her hair short like that. "Yeah her name is Sakura and she's my…" He stopped because he didn't know what she was.

Jiraiya chuckled at the kid. He knew what it was like to be head over heels for a woman, hell to this day he still was. "Well why don't we go and say hi?" Jiraiya said jumping off the building and landing just away from the spar the two medics were in.

Rin noticed the man immediately. "Hello Lord Jiraiya." She said with a short bow to her senior, she may hate him for being a pervert but she had undying respect for him has a ninja all the same.

Sakura did a quick bow breathing heavy from the spar. When Naruto landed next to the Sanin she began to blush, luckily her exhaustion seemed to hide it, all the same she smiled at her friend. "Hey Naruto, how's the training going?"

Naruto smiled, "Pretty good pervy sage is teaching me some really cool tricks!"

Rin glared at the old man and the young blond, "I hope for your sake these 'tricks' are related to your ninja training."

Naruto nodded his head furiously earning a cute giggle from the pinkette.

Jiraiya was smiling because it looked like he didn't have to do anything at all, he was relieved at that.

Jiraiya gave a head gesture to speak with Rin one on one.

XXXX

Naruto watched the two adults walking away, he could feel his heart racing faster and faster, Jiraiya had given him a challenge and he was going to succeed. He stood across from Sakura who was trying to avoid his gaze, "How's training going Sakura, you really look like you're improving."

Sakura felt genuinely happy at the praise Naruto was giving her. So she smiled back at him, "So what are these trick Lord Jiraiya is teaching you Naruto?"

Naruto put his hands behind his head, "Pervy sage said I can't tell anyone so it's a surprise until the finals."

Sakura scrunched her face hearing that, she had hoped to at least be aware of the progress of her two teammates but from what Lady Rin had told her Sasuke and Obito went off into the wilderness for the next month to prepare for the exam so that left only her and Naruto in the village.

Naruto felt the butterflies in his stomach moving a mile a minute, "Hey Sakura," he started uncomfortable, "Pervy sage says that I should get out my feelings for people who are important to me."

Sakura immediately focused 100% on Naruto, if he confessed first that would make it much easier for her.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck his eyes bouncing between the ground and Sakura's bright green eyes. "Well you see I've been thinking for a while that I should say it but we've either been too busy or the moment just wasn't right and I would chicken out." Naruto could feel the sweat on his palms he had never been this nervous before. "What I wanted to say was…" he froze as he felt that if he messed this up there was no going back. "I really like your forehead."

"My forehead?" Sakura asked puzzled and scrunching her face,

"Her forehead?" Jiraiya and Rin asked confused as they face faulted both wanting him to say it for real.

Naruto caught himself quickly, "Yeah your forehead, it's the thing that makes you who you are. You used to be so shy about it but now you show it off with pride!"

Sakura started to blush again, she was upset that Naruto chickened out but she still liked that he complimented her forehead it was still the thing she was most self-conscious about. "Thanks Naruto, I like your forehead too."

XXXX

Jiraiya was rubbing the stress off of his face, "That hurt to watch."

Rin giggled, "He's still bolder than Obito was at that age. Poor guy back then would just get flustered whenever I gave him a hint."

The two rejoined the genin, "Alright Naruto we best get back to training." Jiraiya said walking away from the girls training area.

XXXX

Sakura watched the two men walking away, mostly she was watching the blond one. "Why are boys so dumb Lady Rin?" She asked turning to her mentor.

"Because they think they have something to prove all the time." She said back to her student, "Back when me and Obito were little he used to always try and act tough when he was near me. I always knew it was an act so one day I called him out on it and from then on we got much closer." She laughed to herself, "I was actually the one who asked him out the first time just me and him went on a date.

Sakura nodded, "I may have to do the same thing." Rin's eyes got wide with shock hearing that, "Please don't tell him?" Sakura asked pleadingly.

Rin silently gestured that her mouth was a lock.

XXXX

Naruto and Jiraiya stood near a large canyon that Naruto couldn't see the bottom of. "Alright kid," Jiraiya spoke up, "Now it's sink or swim."

Naruto was about to ask what the perv meant before he felt himself pushed over the edge and he began to fall.

As he was falling Naruto tried to grab hold of the wall using his chakra but every time he tried he would slip and continue to fall.

Without warning Naruto was no longer falling, he was standing in knee deep water as he looked around he saw a massive cage with the word seal on it on a piece of paper. He started to walk closer to the cage when he heard a growl.

Looking into the shadows he saw two bright red eyes staring back into him. Quickly realizing what that was Naruto backed off a bit.

"Pathetic, even when I'm in this cage you mortals back away from me." A deep booming voice said.

Naruto getting curious walked over to the cage again and finally saw it; the Kyuubi. It had bright orange fur and black slits running from its eyes to its ears. Its teeth were held in a snarl as it looked at its captor.

Naruto shook his head, "I'm not scared of you." This piqued the interest of the Kyuubi. "If you had wanted to hurt me you would have already done it." The jinchuuriki said with a big grin plastered on his face.

This made the Kyuubi curious, no one had ever smiled at him before, with the exception of that Uchiha bastard but that was a sadistic smile that led to multiple life times of his imprisonment. "What is it you want brat?"

Naruto snapped back to being focused, "Oh yeah I'm falling and I need your chakra to help me get out."

Kyuubi smiled, "Fine but only if you think you can handle it."

XXXX

Naruto snapped back to reality and saw that he was still falling, when he suddenly felt a powerful surge of chakra take over his body the chakra began to bubble out of him and became solid. He reached out to the wall again and this time the chakra extended past his arm and crashed into the wall holding Naruto in place dangling from the chakra.

With one loud shout Naruto yanked himself up launching him back out of the canyon like a slingshot.

Jiraiya had been watching and he readied a chakra suppression tag when he saw the red chakra take shape. Now he was watching Naruto flying out of the canyon at a scary speed.

As Naruto passed Jiraiya the Sanin was shocked as to the power and speed Naruto was able to use like this.

Naruto landed 30 feet away from the canyon looking around. He could feel his heart pounding and he was angry. Naruto knew he had nothing to be angry about right now but that didn't change the fact that he was. Without warning he felt something poke his head and he calmed down and passed out.


	17. The Time for Training is Over

Sakura was now panting heavily, what she lacked in chakra levels she made up for in her control; which led Rin to teach her how to use the chakra scalpel. But prolonged use would always leave her exhausted.

Rin watched her new pupil with pride, she hadn't even learned how to properly use the scalpel until she was nearly a Jonin. These kids were going to be a true force to be reckoned with. Rin already knew that Jiraiya was likely going to teach Naruto sealing, just like Minato Sensei had learned.

Her mind did wander to Obito and Sasuke, knowing her husband he probably has some absurd way to train Sasuke to get his striking power up. But she trusted the two of them to be responsible.

She focused again on the pink haired girl who was looking at her fist, Rin could see the cogs turning in her mind.

Sakura created the scalpel that extended just past her fingertips, after a moment she pushed her chakra as far as she could and it extended another foot and a half.

Watching this happen Rin was shocked that Sakura figured out how to stretch her chakra without being taught granted; Rin had planned on teaching her that anyway but to just come up with it was spectacular.

Sakura grinned as a strategy began to form in her mind on how to catch someone unaware.

XXXX

Naruto woke up and saw that it was night, he quickly looked around and saw a crackling fire with Jiraiya sitting by it.

"Well now, if it isn't the brat himself." The Sanin said watching the boy look around confused.

"How long was I out?" Naruto asked as he scooted over to the fire.

"Couple of hours. Don't worry Rin wasn't expecting you home tonight."

Naruto silently scooted over so he was across from Jiraiya. "So you wanna tell me what happened?"

Naruto pulled his knees to his chest not looking away from the fire. "I met Kyuubi down there."

Jiraiya nodded following Naruto's lead and just watching the fire. "Well it was going to happen eventually; his other two containers had also met with him numerous times. What did you talk about?"

"His chakra. He said that all mortals are scared of him; it almost sounded like it upset him."

Jiraiya wondered at that fact, could Kyuubi feel emotional pain, hell could it feel pain at all?

"When I used his chakra I felt angry, but since there was no one to be angry at it all shifted to loneliness." Naruto was clearly holding back emotions, "I think Kyuubi is sad."

Jiraiya marveled at the boy, not only did he use the Kyuubi's chakra the boy sympathized with it. "Well kid, I'm sure in time you will have it all figured out." The Sanin said assuredly.

XXXX

Naruto rolled himself out of bed, over the past month Jiraiya had taught him how to use seals properly and in combat. So he felt prepared today to handle any opponent that came at him in the finals.

He hadn't really seen much of his team since Obito took Sasuke and he had that awkward encounter with Sakura. So he had spent every waking moment with the old pervert, but Naruto had to admit the old guy was starting to grow on him. Naruto could smell the breakfast cooking in the kitchen and he smiled, whenever Sasuke and him had a big day if she was off Rin would make them a big breakfast. Naruto ran out of his bedroom hoping to see Sasuke but he didn't seem to be there.

Rin saw the sad look in Naruto's eyes even if it was only briefly there. She had missed Obito too, but she was also aware that he was the best suited to train Sasuke and the best way to push the boy was to give him no other chance. "Alright Naruto I made you a nice healthy breakfast that should get you going all day." She secretly loved to baby Naruto and Sasuke even though most of the time they didn't let her anymore.

Today though Naruto was more than willing to eat up if it gave him an advantage in the matches later, part of him was torn because there was a good chance he would have to face Sasuke and he wasn't sure if that excited him or frightened him.

XXXX

Sakura was looking at herself in the mirror, over the past month Rin had changed her from a weak little girl that just happened to be a ninja; into a ninja who just happened to be a girl. She could feel the swell of pride rise within her looking at the girl who watched her through the mirror. She felt confident of her chances to make Chunin but she still didn't want to face either of her teammates. One was for obvious reasons because she also felt he wouldn't be able to really fight her. Sasuke because even though she wasn't as close to him he still sat beside her when she slept just like he did with Naruto and that means something coming from him.

She tightened her headband back into its usual place on her forehead and ran out the door to face whatever came at her.

XXXX

Sasuke sat on a tree trunk meditating, over the past month Obito had trained not just his body but also his mind so that he could keep his curse mark under control. He knew that if he got like that again he wouldn't be able to differentiate friend from foe so that was something they worked on greatly.

His speed had also been increased even with Obito teaching him a trick that would help him move faster using the lightning chakra he possessed naturally to cut all wind resistance. As he opened his eyes he saw the sideways face of his surrogate brother watching him.

"You ready Sasuke?" Obito said to the boy who was sitting on the side of a tree using his chakra to hold him in place.

The young Uchiha jumped off the tree before nodding to Obito, this was just one more step in his being strong enough to kill Itachi. He knew that his team would be there that day just giving him even more confidence in his odds.

XXXX

At the stadium Rin was sitting in the stands next to her was one empty seat she was holding for her eternally late husband, just past that chair sat the other jonin senseis all ready to cheer on their students. They all had at least one competing but Obito had all three which was absolutely unheard of among rookies. Only one of the Sanin made it to the finals on their first try and that man was the reason she was worried.

None of them had seen or heard from Orochimaru since Sasuke was marked which only made her more anxious. She had no idea how Obito would handle losing someone else to that monster, and she knew that Naruto would take it the worst. For now, she was just going to stay on her guard and watch the finals rooting for her family.

XXXX

Naruto stood in the waiting area that the contestants were all supposed to stay inside of during the finals. Naruto always hated being cooped up in one place for too long like this; it's part of the reason he hated school so much, just teachers constantly telling him to calm down and be quiet. Two things Naruto never was.

He turned his head as he saw Shikamaru walk into the room before leaning against the wall. Jiraiya had told Naruto to prepare for anyone to be his opponent.

XXXX

Sakura walked into the box that the contestants were to wait in, she lit up when she saw Naruto in the room already. She could tell from his bouncing from side to side that he was getting antsy in the small space. She giggled watching him fiddle around with the pull tab on his jacket. Ugh that jacket, she liked Naruto but not his style. The boy dressed nothing like a ninja his tracksuit screamed here I am sucker more than ninja to be reckoned with.

Naruto smiled when he saw Sakura coming getting a blush out of the pink haired kunoichi. "Hey Naruto you ready for today?" She knew he was but she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"You bet I am, by this time tomorrow Team 7 will be a team of Chunin!" Naruto loudly exclaimed.

Sakura smiled at the blond, "You know that if we make Chunin we won't be Team 7 anymore?"

Naruto paled hearing that, he didn't want his team to split up. He was so excited when he found out he was on a team with his best friend and the girl of his dreams, he didn't want that to end.

Sakura seeing Naruto descending into madness spoke up. "It will be fine though Naruto, most Chunin teams consist of former genin teams anyway." She put her hand on his shoulder to calm him down and the reaction was instantaneous. And he started to relax and almost melt at her gentle touch.

XXXX

Sasuke walked in on the scene between the two love birds and smirked to himself before he felt something snake its way into his arm. He looked to the side and saw Hinata holding her arm in his with a smirk on her face that wouldn't seem unusual on Anko. "Is there something I can help you with Hyuuga?"

Hinata smiled at the question and began to touch the Uchiha's chest. "Well if you're so curious I was wondering if you would like to be my escort tonight at the festival congratulating myself and anyone else who gets promoted today." She said in her best attempt at a sexy voice.

Sasuke smirked actually liking how forward Hinata was with him. Before when he used to have fan girls they didn't attempt to hide it but they never acted upon anything which always bothered him. "I suppose if someone has to watch over the Hyuuga heiress it should be me." Sasuke grimaced because he had to ask the question that had been bothering him the whole month. "How is Neji?" He asked avoiding the gaze of her lavender eyes.

"He's fine you hurt him pretty bad but luckily Lady Rin Uchiha was on duty at the hospital and she made him just about good as new. The only thing you hurt long term was his pride."

Sasuke took a breath glad to push the guilt away from that. He looked up as he saw that all the finalists were in the room. He and Hinata were side by side as were Naruto and Sakura, the two Sand Ninjas stood next to one another, leaving Shino, Lee, and Shikamaru all standing off on their own. He mentally prepared himself for the battles ahead, by the end of the day he would prove his strength.


	18. An Exciting First Round

Obito had taken his seat next to Rin giving her a quick peck on the lips in greeting before she started wafting the air near her nose. "Obito you need a bath as soon as we get home this is absurd."

The older Uchiha smiled, "I missed you too Rin."

Rin started to fiddle with the hem of her skirt, "Um Obito there's something I need to tell you…" She trailed off seeing his eyes light up as the finals began. This could wait until afterwards she thought.

The first match had been a very unique one with Shikamaru outsmarting Temari; but still having to give up the fight because he was nearly out of chakra and he would have been on the receiving end of a beating from the determined kunoichi.

The next match had everyone excited, they finally got to witness the young Uchiha prodigy in action. The boy who had lost everything in a single night adopted by a man who was ostracized from the same family it was a story book in the making. He was to fight the bizarre looking boy who wore the green spandex. It was clear to the ninja population that he was the second coming of their own Might Guy which terrified them, he was a man that you liked to have in a battle with you but would hate to bump into at the market.

XXXX

Both boys stood apart from one another the match had already begun but both were adept at taijutsu and didn't want to be the one caught unaware by the other having a trap prepared for them.

Sasuke slowly started to strafe to the side while Lee watched and kept himself centered against the Uchiha. "Sasuke, I wish for this to be a youthful bout unfortunately one of us will be finished after this match. But my strong will will see to it that I am the one standing on top." Lee said with his usual odd cadence.

Sasuke smirked throwing a few hand signs as lightning encircled him palm that seemed to mimic the sound of birds.

XXXX

The jonin sensei's spectating paled at seeing that jutsu again, they thought only two people could perform that jutsu and one of them refused to use it. They all turned to look at Obito who was intently watching the finals with bated breath.

XXXX

Sasuke clapped his hands together and the lightning seemed to arc across the space in between them afterwards. He started to run right at Lee in hopes that the boy would be aware of how this technique worked.

Lee had been prepared for a straight charge but the speed his opponent moved at caught him off guard. No one had been expecting Sasuke to use lightning like this, the taijutsu specialist could see that the lightning was pushing his opponent's legs harder than they normally would go.

Right before Sasuke was about to punch at Lee the green clad ninja began to duck the upcoming punch when Sasuke used the lightning to move his body into the position to kick the legs out from under Lee.

As Lee came to the ground he quickly tried to regain his control of the fight but had a hard time locating Sasuke. Until he felt a tap on his shoulder, Lee spun his hand around in an attempt to backhand his enemy but Sasuke wasn't there either.

Lee looked behind himself again and saw Sasuke standing with his arms crossed watching the jutsuless ninja. Lee ducked down to unstrap his weights, feeling the freedom his legs now had he decided to push his opponent by going on the offensive. But right when Lee's fist was about to connect Sasuke swiftly moved out of the way working to not even touch his enemy.

This did not stop Lee he started to push faster and faster to take down the Uchiha but nothing he did allowed him to so much as touch Sasuke.

"Lee use that jutsu!" Guy yelled from his seat causing his fellow jonin to all lean away. As Rin tried to bat away the stinky Obito who was now almost completely on top of her as he reeled away from the 'youthful' man.

Lee stopped his attack to get some distance so he could push himself to his true limit. "1st gate open!" Lee screamed which earned no response from the Uchiha as his red eyes just continued to stare at him. "2nd gate open!" He screamed again opening each gate one by one until he stood before Sasuke with 5 of the eight gates opened.

XXXX

Obito turned to Gai, "Why would you teach something so dangerous to someone his age, he's going to get himself killed out there Gai. Sasuke is prepared to handle any speed that could be thrown at him, Lee is going to destroy his body if he doesn't stop!" Obito yelled at the other jonin a combination of worried and furious.

XXXX

Lee charged at Sasuke and in an instant was in front of the Uchiha as he brought his leg up to kick Sasuke's midsection but he found himself kicking air as within moments Sasuke had already dodged the attack.

The entire stadium was in shock at the speed both boys fought with especially that the Uchiha heir hadn't even gone on the offensive since he took the boy of his legs for a brief moment.

Lee continued his onslaught of blows still not managing to land a single one blow on the elusive Uchiha who not only could see the upcoming blow thanks to his Sharingan he had a method to dodge every single shot taken at him.

Lee could feel himself exhausting if he didn't end this soon then Sasuke would win having only thrown one kick and Lee hundreds. Finally Lee took his chance he was going to use his secret jutsu even if he had to blow it all in the first fight he was determined to win.

He charged one last time at Sasuke kicking him into the air, he could've sworn he hit nothing but the Uchiha was going into the air anyway so he positioned himself properly. "Reverse Lotus!" Lee shouted as he and Sasuke turned to drill into the ground but right as Lee was about to make contact with Sasuke the Uchiha burst into lightning electrifying his entire body as he landed on the ground all five gates slammed shut and Lee was left on the ground moaning in pain.

XXXX

The entire crowd stared on in shock at what they had just seen somehow none of them noticed that the Uchiha had switched out with a lightning clone sometime in the fight. "Since the clone was made of lightning it could move at any speed Sasuke wanted it too. Most ninjas would keep the clone moving at human speeds but Sasuke needed to push Lee to exhaustion." Obito said explaining his student's strategy. "But Lee knowing how to open the eight gates increased the strain, as long as he moved slower than light Sasuke was able to keep moving out of the way until he felt that he could make the clone explode and Lee wouldn't be able to get away. Whatever damage the gates caused is all on you Gai." The Older Uchiha said coldly.

Sasuke came out from behind a tree from where he had been hiding for most of the fight and was promptly declared the winner as the medics came and took Lee away.

XXXX

The next match started and Hinata stood across the stadium from Sakura. Naruto and Sasuke had both decided to avoid eye contact because it was a very awkward situation because they both wanted their lady friend to win, and Sasuke wanted his entire team to be promoted together.

Hinata started the fight by testing Sakura, she would attack with simple gentle fist techniques not trying to close off any chakra points but just to see how the pinkette moved. "Ha! You know I used to have a crush on Naruto, but seeing the way he fawned over a weakling like you disgusted me; I suppose you can have him."

Hearing that Sakura didn't care if she was playing into Hinata's game she wanted to hurt her opponent now. She readied the chakra scalpel and took a short swipe at Hinata's arm but was blocked by Hinata using Sakura's open torso to close one of her chakra points.

The kunoichi of Team 7 could feel her arm get very heavy and she could no longer push enough chakra through to use the scalpel in that hand, luckily she had prepared for this to happen if she fought Hinata. She put her arm in a sling that she had with her, causing her arm to now protect her most vital chakra points, even the most advanced Hyuuga couldn't hit them if an arm was in the way.

Hinata scowled, "Fine if you want to drag this fight out I would be more than willing to show you just how outclassed you really are you clanless loser!" Hinata again charged at Sakura but reeled back quickly when Sakura threw her other arm up with the scalpel.

Hinata smirked because she saw that Sakura's attack had a limit to its reach. Now she had a plan to end the fight quickly.

Sakura saw Hinata charging this time with the intent to end the fight, she knew that this was her last chance to win this fight she met Hinata coming in full force as Hinata moved away from the scalpel Sakura pumped as much chakra into it as she could.

Hinata heard the tearing but she had no idea what it was, the ground seemed to rush at her as if out of nowhere and then blackness overcame her.

Sakura stood panting over the unconscious Hinata as she was declared the winner, most of the audience cheered with excitement that such a clever tactic was used. The Hyuuga's however took the loss personally.

Obito was covering his ears from the pain, Rin was shouting with such excitement he couldn't remember a time she reacted this loudly to something. He took a quick glance to Kurenai who seemed to be taking the loss of her student in stride. She still had another one that wouldn't even fight until the second round.

XXXX

Naruto picked up Sakura so excited that both she and Sasuke had won their fights and were that much closer to becoming Chunin. After putting Sakura down, he noticed Sakura look at Sasuke sadly, "Sorry."

"It was a match and you had to win, don't sweat it I doubt she will hold it against you." Sasuke said turning his attention back to the stadium. "Dobe go; it's your turn!"

Naruto bounded into position ready for his fight against the Sand ninja. As the match began he saw his opponent unwrap the puppet he called Crow. Seeing it made Naruto uneasy it looked just inhuman enough to make someone uncomfortable; Naruto figured that was intentional.

Kankuro not wanting to play around with the kid and just wanting to move on to the next stage of their plan had Crow charge Naruto quickly.

Naruto got excited this was working just as he needed it to, Jiraiya had explained how ninja puppets are controlled by strings consisting of chakra, which meant that all Naruto had to do was get around the puppet and slap a tag on the sand ninja and he would win.

Naruto put his hands together summoning as many clones as he could in the space they were in, they all charged into different directions. Kankuro didn't know how to handle this many opponents when he felt something grab his back, turning around he saw Naruto clone holding onto him. He looked out and saw one blond swinging another in a quick motion straight for him. Naruto rushed in quickly and slammed the tag into place.

Kankuro could feel his chakra slipping away, once Crow hit the ground he knew he had lost the fight.

Naruto jumped around the arena as the spectators cheered for Naruto, for the first time he could remember Naruto felt happy to have a crowd watching him.


	19. Battle for the Leaf

Up in the Kage booth Hiruzen was lightly clapping for another Leaf genin making it to the second round. He had a good feeling about that Team Obito had chosen. They all had remarkable potential that rivaled that of even his famous team that ended in tragedy. Speaking of that tragedy he knew that man beside him was not Rasa of the Sand, but actually Orochimaru in disguise.

Hiruzen had been spending the entire first round hoping for an opportunity to clear away as many civilians as possible but it didn't seem to be able to get him anywhere. Just as he had decided to bide his time he felt the genjutsu fall over him. He quickly cast it to the side and turned to the Kazekage impersonator who was leering back as a long tongue unhooked the face cover he had been wearing.

"Hello Sarutobi Sensei, I have missed you all these years." Orochimaru hissed before doing his unique laugh.

XXXX

Obito not only felt the genjutsu he saw it fall on everyone because of his active Sharingan. He was glad to see that Rin and the other jonin with him shrugged it off just as easily. He checked that Rin was ok before he noticed that many men in the stands threw off masks revealing themselves to be sound ninjas.

The fighting became gruesome quickly he had grown adept at fighting for long periods of time but this many people all fought just different enough to keep him off balance.

Rin seemed to have fallen right into the swing of combat once again, she was using her hard to match strength to hit the larger ninjas into scores of smaller ones. Obito even wondered to himself if she was keeping score like some kind of game.

He soon heard a loud and booming "32!" From Gai who was cutting through his opponents like paper. Realizing that not only would his wife take down more than him so would Gai, Obito started pushing himself harder.

XXXX

Sakura having realized the genjutsu quick enough looked over to Sasuke who was standing over Naruto as he fought a group of ninjas away. Sakura snuck up the blond and put her hand to his forehead as she pushed just enough chakra to wake him up.

Naruto shot up looking at what was happening. Sasuke was standing next to him with bloody kunais breathing heavy. "What do we do?" Naruto asked worried that he didn't know what to do in this situation. They all looked to the Kage box and saw a purple cube incase the entire surface.

Jiraiya landed in front of the shocked genin, "I need all of you to start getting people to safety. That is your main priority; as a Sage I am tasking all of you with this A rank mission do you understand?" Jiraiya shouted at the genin who nodded their understanding.

XXXX

Team 7 quickly made their way into position to lead the civilians to safety as they started to wake them up with specific instructions to get out of the stadium and into a secret bunker. After waking as many as they could Team 7 started heading outside to lead more civilians to safety.

Sakura gasped at what she saw, the entire village was in the middle of a siege, the three had assumed the attack was centralized on the academy. But the carnage was also present in the streets and on the outer walls.

The other genin from their class all landed beside them with their jaws slacked. "What do we do now?" Kiba asked to no one in particular.

Sasuke closed his eyes and did the breathing exercise that Obito had taught him. He went to his happy place. Had anyone asked him a month ago what that was he would say his happy place was with his mother and father and even Itachi all before the massacre. But now whenever Sasuke pictured himself happy he was sitting at the table, eating one of Rin's home cooked meals as she scolded Obito on being goofy while Naruto laughed. That was his happy place and he would go so far as to give up his own life if it meant their happiness.

"Team 8," Sasuke said getting the attention of all three members, "I want all of you to try and locate people trapped under any rubble, if any enemies get in your way tear them to pieces." Team 8 all nodded understanding their mission.

"Team 10!" This got the attention of the InoShikaCho, "I need you three to find any information you can on this attack and then bring it to a jonin. They don't have to be a sensei they just need the authority to act. Again if you find any enemies trying to stop you from gathering information, tear them to pieces!"

That left just Team 7 standing there as Sasuke's eyes darted around the village. He ran up to a large building and scaled the building as he was followed by his teammates. "What are we doing Sasuke?" Naruto asked he wasn't sure where this leader came from but he wasn't going to argue with Sasuke if he had plans that might work.

Sasuke could feel the chakra again and judging by Sakura's stance so could she. But he couldn't get a sight on it. Just as he was about to speak a tendril of sand lanced straight for them. All three genin jumped away from the attack as an enraged Gaara made himself visible on the rooftop.

Sasuke recognized the chakra as the same type Naruto had, he had looked up what Sand Spirit meant and this boy had to be the jinchuuriki of the Ichibi. He saw that once again Naruto's eyes took on their red hue that more or less matched the red of his own eyes.

Gaara began to stagger up to the genin, "Mother wants you dead Nine Tails, I'm going to kill you!" He screamed if it weren't for the adrenaline the three may have frozen in place.

"Lead him out of the village!" Sasuke shouted and darted off to the nearest exit followed by his team and then by Gaara.

"If you want to die by the trees I will grant it Nine Tails!" Sasuke grimaced, this psycho was after Naruto, he didn't care about him and Sakura.

"Sakura he just wants Naruto you need to get out of here!" Sasuke said over his shoulder half to look at her and half to see how far behind Gaara was.

"Screw you Sasuke I'm a member of Team 7 just like you and Naruto; and we're fighting a Biju as a team!" As she said it she had no idea where the courage came from but she didn't care.

XXXX

Obito froze in place as he heard that noise again, he knew it wasn't Sasuke this time he had seen his team leave; that could only mean it was one other person. He looked and saw a man in a dog mask charging at a group of ninjas that were preoccupied with other enemies.

Obito pushed all the muscles in his legs and charged at his old friend meeting him and tackling him off course. "Kakashi snap out of it!" Obito yelled at his old friend. "You don't want to hurt these people; your people!"

Kakashi turned his head and made eye contact with Obito earning a gasp from the Uchiha. "Kill me." Was all Kakashi was able to whisper as Obito was laying on top of him.

Obito knew what he saw, in the place of Kakashi's bad eye was a Sharingan. What scared him more was that Kakashi spoke to him for the first time since that night. "I can't do that Kakashi, I'm going to bring you home!" Obito screamed as he brought his fist down on the face of his best friend causing the mask to explode from the impact.

And Obito saw it, something he hadn't even seen when they were on the same team. Kakashi for once was not wearing a mask. Obito saw the curse mark spread across his friend's face and his normal eye had a yellow tint.

"Then die with the rest of the Leaf!" Kakashi yelled pushing Obito off.

Gaining his balance Obito saw Kakashi getting back up with a mad look on his face, "The Leaf shall burn for what it has done!" He yelled forming another Chidori in his hands.

Obito felt the tear come down his face but made the Rasengan in his palm anyway. The two charged at one another both with the speed of an elite ninja and as their jutsus met it seemed like a lightning storm was happening in between them.

XXXX

Team 7 finally stopped running realizing they were far enough from the village for the fight that was about to happen. Gaara didn't have to try hard to keep up with them he was more than willing to play their game of chase as long as he was able to kill Nine Tails.

Naruto stared forward at the red head across the way from him who looked at them with crazy eyes. "Why do they protect you?" Gaara asked, "People like us are nothing but weapons designed to kill and maim, we serve no other purpose in life. If we cannot kill, then are we even alive?"

Naruto felt the fury building in his belly, "You don't know what you're talking about. Sasuke is like a brother to me, he has been my closest friend for years!" Naruto could feel the chakra continue to move as could his teammates. "And Sakura is the girl I love! She stands with me because she cares about me too!" Under any other circumstances Naruto would have blushed at what he had just said but right now he could feel Kyuubi's chakra.

Sakura stood wide eyed at Naruto confessing her loved her, it isn't the way she would have wanted it to happen but she knew he meant it. "Yeah what he said!" She shouted feeling braver after hearing Naruto. "The three of us are one and not even you can separate us!"

Sasuke stepped forward now flanking Naruto's other side, "We're all on this squad and we're all in it together!"

Naruto smiled and nodded, he could feel the Kyuubi's chakra now but unlike last time what he felt wasn't rage or hate, this time it seemed to be life itself.

Gaara couldn't understand what they were saying. How could someone like him care for someone else and be cared for in return the only person he had ever cared about had tried to kill him. "Fine then all of you can die!" The sand flew out at Team 7 to spear all of them when suddenly they were all gone.

Sasuke blinked because his Sharingan barely registered the movement he had just seen a bright light and felt himself moved. He looked over and saw that Naruto was glowing yellow in certain spots. The yellow chakra almost seemed to be alive as it moved across his body.

Naruto looked around and found himself inside of the Kyuubi's chamber again when the booming voice began to speak. "Quite the speech their kid. Even with me pumping this much chakra into your body you feel no hate. I suppose I can give you enough to deal with Shukaku."

Naruto blinked at Kyuubi. "You called him Shukaku, is that his name?" Which Kyuubi slowly nodded. "What's your name?"

Kyuubi looked at the boy in front of him with the keenest eye he could searching for any deception but found none. "The man who created me gave me the name Kurama." This had been the first time he had heard his own name out loud since he left the others all those years ago.

"Well it's nice to meet you Kurama." Naruto said with a bright smile.

"Keep my name to yourself brat I still want to be feared." Kurama said as he laid his head down to go back to sleep.

XXXX

Naruto stood up as he felt the yellow chakra move across his body. It didn't cover his entire body at any one time but it all moved on him. He could feel the immense power he now had as he looked to Gaara who had sand slowly forming on his body that was taking shape as a tail and the upper body of a racoon.

Sakura stood wide eyed at Naruto, if it weren't for him they would all be paste against a tree. The way the chakra moved on his body she had to admit made him look really cool. "Kick his ass Naruto!" Sakura yelled.

Naruto responded by immediately launching himself at Gaara splintering the branch he had been standing on. As his fist landed on the sand Gaara was pushed through half a dozen trees smashing through them without slowing down until he put his arm out to catch him.

Gaara looked ahead at the glowing man in front of him. "Nine Tails can't save you from me!" Suddenly sand started to rip out of the ground and surround Gaara. Within minutes the sand was now the size of a mountain and had taken shape to look just like Shukaku.

Sasuke and Sakura stared in awe at the power of the beast. Naruto on the other hand smirked, he could feel the differences in their power and his far outmatched Gaara's. "Sasuke, Sakura things are about to get crazy. Please give me some more space." Naruto said calmly.

Sakura jumped next to Naruto looking him in the eyes. "You better come back you hear me! You can't just say you love a girl and then go and die." She reached forward and quickly kissed Naruto before going in the opposite direction.

Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, "She's right dobe you better make it back!" Sasuke ran away as well.

Naruto stared up at the behemoth in front of him. Naruto pushed himself forward and launching into the beast and making an impact on Shukaku's arm ripping it off.

XXXX

Hiruzen was staring directly at both his predecessors back from the dead. Orochimaru had managed to bring them both back to life, he just felt relieved he had stopped him from bringing the Fourth back he was going to have enough trouble with the 1st and 2nd.

Tobirama looked at his own hands. "I always hated myself for creating this jutsu. It was my own pride; I am sorry Saru."

Hashirama shook his head, "We will fight this…" He was cut off as Orochimaru pushed a kunai into both their skulls.

"No none of that Lord First. You are simply my obedient servants now." He performed a jutsu that made the entirety of the battle field blacked out. "Good luck Sarutobi Sensei, I don't want killing you to be an easy feat. Prove to me now why you are called the God of Shinobi!"

XXXX

Obito and Kakashi were both pushed back from their attacks, he could see that Kakashi was sweating from the attack. He knew that Chidori took a great deal of chakra to perform especially when compared to the Rasengan. Unfortunately, Kakashi was too smart to keep using his jutsu.

"Snap out of it Kakashi! You can still fight Orochimaru!" Obito screamed at his silver haired friend.

"I don't care about Lord Orochimaru or what he wants to do. All I care about is destroying the village that ruined my life!" Kakashi screamed hurling kunai directly at Obito.

"What do you mean 'ruined your life'" Obito shouted back, "This is your headband; you are a Leaf ninja!" Obito screamed pointing at the headband he wore.

"I only did it because there was no other option. The village scorned my father for caring about the people on his team. I was cursed for caring about the people on mine!" Kakashi spat causing Obito to tense up as Kakashi charged back at him with kunais. "I hate this village; I hate the people inside of it, I hate the Leaf ninja…" He paused to look into Obito's eyes. "But most of all I hate you Obito."

Obito jumped back, the words cutting him deeper than he knew anything could. Kakashi continue to speak, "'Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.' Isn't that right Obito, that's what you told me all those years ago. Then we went to save Rin and save her we did. Rin the woman you love, you have always loved her even when she was pining after me you always loved her. But when it came to saving me!" Kakashi screamed that part, "You just let that man take me and you did nothing about it. You stayed here in the village and lived the life that should have been mine!" He was now on top of Obito beating on him.

"If you had just died at Kanabi bridge then I would've been happy!" Kakashi was now a crazed mess.

XXXX

Naruto could feel the pure surge of chakra coming from Kurama. He even thought to himself how this could almost become addictive.

Shukaku kept swiping at the blond blur that could not be touched. "Sit still you fox bastard!" The crazed biju screamed as his arms and tail tore through the forest.

Naruto seeing that Shukaku was nowhere near fast enough to lay a hand on him the blond would take shots at the biju causing severe damage. But every time he struck and created a wound Shukaku would just heal it up in moments.

XXXX

Obito had just gotten one of the worst beatings of his life but he felt no pain from it. All he felt was shame, Kakashi was right he had done nothing to try and bring his friend home back hell he even went so far as to try and kill him that night. And here Kakashi was listing Obito's sins and showing him how much of a fraud he had always been.

"Kakashi." The voice was soft but both men recognized it. Rin was standing and watching what they were saying. "I'm so sorry Kakashi, I asked him not to go. If he had gone I was worried I would lose him too; I couldn't take losing both of you to him. Just come back to us." The last part she had pleaded as she cried.

Kakashi turned his attention back to Obito, one of his eyes their natural black, the other a fully matured Sharingan. He could feel the small part of him that still fought against the curse mark to this day screaming at him to listen and stop this, but his hatred was greater.

Obito seeing that Kakashi wasn't about to stop made peace with Kakashi's wish to die. Using all of his strength Obito forced Kakashi off of him, then using the space he had been given he weaved the hand signs he needed. He knew he shouldn't use it but one attack he had to use it for.

Obito's right eye took on the shape of his mangekyo and he blew out the fire and used his power he called Kamui to force the fire to swirl and surround Kakashi. "Fire Style: Bomb Blast Dance!" Obito shouted at the top of his lungs.

The first thing Obito noticed after the jutsu died out was the stench. He had smelled burnt flesh before but this one seemed to stink all the more because of who it was. Obito slowly walked up to the corpse of his best friend. His mangekyo still active in his eyes Obito let the tears fall.

He was ripped from his thoughts when he saw in the distance the massive shape of the Ichibi screaming in pain as a yellow light sliced through its arm.

Rin inched toward Obito refusing to look at the burnt corpse of her old friend. She could mourn him later right now Obito needed her. As she pulled him into a hug the dam finally broke and Obito wept.

XXXX

Naruto was bouncing through the trees at remarkable speeds if it weren't for his Sharingan all Sasuke would see would be the yellow trail Naruto left wherever he went.

Naruto landed on the ground and bent his knees to jump again cracking the ground as he jumped straight through Shukaku's stomach. Earning another howl of pain from the beast. Naruto felt another wave of chakra flood his body and with a shout it exploded off of him forming a disfigured fox in its wake.

The chakra moved almost as a fluid when it attacked Shukaku. The impact from the blow though brought nearly every fight in the village to a halt.

XXXX

Jiraiya was nearly done leading the ninjas in cleaning up the rest of the village. The rookie genin really saved the day gaining the intel about where the leaders were and for clearing out the hidden civilians allowing the Leaf ninjas to fight at full force. His blood froze at the sound of the impact, he turned his head and saw the Ichibi and what could only be described as a gelatin Kyuubi.

XXXX

Sarutobi could feel his soul being ripped out of his body along with the chakra points inside of Orochimaru's arms. They both heard the impact even gaining the attention of the Death God. And all were astonished at what they saw few ever saw two biju fight and even less lived to speak of it. Hiruzen chuckled he wasn't going to live that was the whole point of the jutsu.

XXXX

Naruto brought back the massive fist one more time and with a strong swing cut through the other shoulder of Shukaku. Before it could fully reform he saw the unconscious Gaara sticking out of the head of the other beast. With a loud scream Naruto used all of the chakra he had to launch himself at Gaara's position. As he was in the air Naruto noticed the yellow chakra fall off of him. He still had just enough to land one final punch. With one final push he swung his arm right into Gaara's face.

The punch felt like it broke Naruto's hand in many places. The sand fell along with him and Gaara, who both slammed into the ground.

XXXX

Obito was watching the battle happen from a distance, he felt like he may have lost his best friend and Naruto all in one day. If the Kyuubi had been freed everyone here would die.

He relaxed when he saw the gelatin Kyuubi disperse and using his Sharingan he could see Naruto punch the boy who was on top of the monster. Without hesitation, he took off running to help followed by Rin.

XXXX

Gaara looked over at the other jinchuuriki. Gaara had never been beaten before except by his own father and that was only once. But this boy his own age did it, but why? "Tell me Uzumaki." Gaara started as Naruto looked at his opponent as he used his chin to pull himself to the red head. "Why do you fight, if not for yourself or to kill others than what reason is there to fight?"

Naruto grimaced at the pain lancing through his entire body. "I fight to protect the people who care about me." Images of Obito and Rin raising a young Naruto flash through his mind. "I fight for those not strong enough to protect themselves." Images of the villagers Naruto knew flashed through his mind. "I fight to be there another day for my family!" Sasuke flashed through this time. "I fight for those I love." This time Sakura was there. "But most of all I fight for a better tomorrow for everyone who lives on this Earth!" Naruto imagined the faces of everyone he ever met, those who he had lost and those that meant the world to him.

Gaara looked away as his siblings landed next to him. They both came and brought Gaara to his feet as Sasuke and Sakura landed next to Naruto doing the same.

Both groups seemed ready to fight more before Gaara spoke. "Enough, no more." Temari and Kankuro were both shocked hearing that.

Naruto looked at his fellow jinchuuriki with a knowing look.

"Thank you Naruto Uzumaki." Gaara said as his siblings carried him away.


	20. Broken Hands and Great News

Rin was running through the hospital she had received the message that Naruto had been brought in. After she had seen the Nine Tails fighting outside the village she thought that Naruto was gone and right now she would not be able to keep it together anymore if that happened.

She forced the door open and when she came in she saw an unconscious Naruto with his arm in a sling, next to him sat Sasuke clutching a kunai because he had been spooked by Rin's quick entry.

Seeing that it was Rin Sasuke visibly relaxed taking a deep breath. "Sorry Rin. I had asked them to move him to a secure location but they refused. Everyone saw it they're going to come for him again." Sasuke's eyes showed nothing but hate in them, "And now with the Hokage gone there is no one that will stop them, the Anbu is only focusing on large scale protection right now so I have to protect him myself."

Rin reached out to hold Sasuke but he pulled away from her, she pressed it though bringing him into a hug. "It's ok Sasuke I'm here. I won't let anyone touch him either."

Feeling the gentle contact of Rin Sasuke's body relaxed until she realized that he had fallen asleep from simply relaxing his muscles. She would have cried for the two boys but if she did she would continue to cry from everything that had happened during the attack.

XXXX

Obito was standing in the bathroom staring at himself in the mirror, he had refused to let anyone heal the bruising to his face. Rin argued with him about it but he refused all treatment. What he saw in the mirror though disgusted him. He looked past the bruises into his own eyes. He knew that if it weren't for them Kakashi would have beaten him that first night and he would have beaten him in the stadium. Part of him was grateful for that but another part of him just wanted to die. The only reason he hadn't was because Obito knew what losing the people close to you felt like and he wouldn't do that to Rin, Sasuke and Naruto.

He was glad that Rin was going to check on the boys because right now he just needed to be alone to process everything that had happened.

XXXX

Naruto was lying on his back as his eyes cracked open he saw the blindingly white ceiling that he recognized as being the hospitals. He tried pushing himself up to look around but he felt that he had been restrained. He turned his head and saw that his right arm had been put into a sling, he tried to wiggle his fingers but it felt like fire in his bones.

"Anyone else but you would have lost the arm you know?" Naruto turned and saw Rin sitting across the room in a chair reading over paperwork. "I checked the bone work an hour ago the bones were all mush; now they're just fractures but fully intact. You did good Naruto if Obito were here he would say the same."

Hearing that alarm bells went off in Naruto's head, "Obito, Sasuke, Sakura are they ok?" He could feel his heart racing and causing his arm to throb.

Rin gave a reassuring smile, "Don't worry Naruto they're all fine. I sent Sasuke home a few minutes ago he needed a bath and he needed to eat. From what he told me you saved everyone in the village."

Naruto took a long breath he didn't know he was holding, everyone was safe that's what mattered. "Where's Sakura?" Naruto asked the Uchiha bride.

"She's helping in the hospital where she can. Small cuts, mild fractures that sort of thing." She shut her papers and walked over to Naruto's bed and checked his arm again. "You should be fine by tomorrow, after that light show you put on I'm surprised Kyuubi is still healing you this quickly." She said with a genuine smile.

Naruto became downcast at that, "How many people saw that?"

"Everyone."

"I was afraid of that. What are they saying about me?"

Rin refused to make eye contact. "With everything that happened most people are just focused on Lord Hokage. I'm sorry Naruto he died fighting Orochimaru."

Naruto looked sullen, "And the snake bastard?"

"He got away. Lord Jiraiya is putting his feelers out trying to find him but he doesn't expect to have much luck." Rin said working on Naruto's injuries.

XXXX

Jiraiya was standing on the roof of the hospital watching just in case a mob formed and threatened his pupil; luckily he hadn't seen one yet. He felt the chakra signatures approach him from behind. "Well if it isn't the former advisors to the Hokage, what can I do for you?" He asked masking his true feelings behind his goofy demeanor.

"You know why we are here Lord Jiraiya; we want you to be the next Hokage."

Jiraiya chuckled as he turned around, "That's going to be a hard pass on my part. I do hear that a certain Uchiha is interested in the position though." He said turning around.

"Obito Uchiha is too young to take on the position and not yet ready even Sarutobi agreed to that. In a few years perhaps he would make an exceptional Hokage but as it stands the council wants a Sanin."

Jiraiya smirked as an idea popped into existence. "If it's a Sanin you want than I think you are forgetting there is one more. Tsunade always seemed destined for the job wouldn't you agree? Granddaughter of the First student of the Third, godmother of the Seventh."

This confused both elders, "Seventh Hokage Lord Jiraiya?"

"Ah don't sweat it yet. I suppose I'll just go and find her, there is someone I want to bring with me though."

XXXX

Obito was finally ready to get out of the house and go check on his team, he had heard Sasuke come home briefly shower and leave again. So he figured that he would find him with Naruto as well and he would put money down that Sakura was with them as well. He started to hear Naruto screaming and a commotion coming from his room.

Moving at the speed only a jonin could he kicked in Naruto's door but the picture in front of him was confusing.

XXXX

Sakura was holding a spoon to Naruto's face as he pulled away from the soup it held. "No Sakura anything but vegetable soup please!"

"Just eat the damn soup dobe!" Sasuke yelled as the door flew open. Sasuke didn't hesitate and was ready with kunai drawn and Sharingan blazing.

Obito stood shocked at what was happening, he saw Sakura holding the spoon to Naruto's mouth who was pulling away from the food and Sasuke in a battle ready position.

"Ok I'll eat the soup just calm down Obito." Naruto said as he took a bite of the soup his face souring.

"I didn't make this soup from scratch so that you could not eat it baka; so I expect you to eat it all." Sakura said as she continued to shovel the hot mush into Naruto's mouth.

Naruto was caught between heaven and hell right now, on one hand Sakura was feeding him, on the other Sakura was feeding him her own cooking. And Naruto quickly learned that while Sakura was a very talented woman cooking was something she was terrible at.

Obito felt the bubbling in his gut before he burst into a fit of laughter at the scene that was in front of him.

Sasuke relaxed seeing Obito laughing like that, the man while a total goof would always get serious when he had to. He felt the chakra appear in the window but this time didn't move to attack this one he recognized as the same one that had been on the roof since Naruto arrived.

"So brat I see you've recovered from your battle quite nicely." Jiraiya said looking into the full hospital room. He turned his attention toward Sasuke, "I want to thank you Sasuke."

This caught the Uchiha off guard, "For what?"

"Well for one I heard you are the reason your graduating class helped as much as they did. You saved a lot of lives kid, getting them all out like that would have been impossible otherwise."

Sasuke beamed at the praise.

"If it were up to me after that I would name you Chunin but I am not the one who will become the Fifth Hokage." He said not looking at Obito to prevent the Uchiha from getting his hopes up. "The advisors have tasked me with locating the Fifth."

Obito spoke up, "Lady Tsunade?" Jiraiya nodded, Obito understood why she was chosen over him. He was just a young man still in his mid-twenties he had plenty of time to become Hokage.

"Alright brat once you are healed up me and you are going to go looking for her."

Naruto nodded with a big smile excited that he would be part of a big important mission. "Sounds like a plan pervy sage!"

"Would you stop calling me that you little brat? If you keep it up, I'll just bring Sasuke and leave you behind!"

Sakura giggled at the older man's antics which caused him to turn and look her up and down making her feel uncomfortable.

Jiraiya turned to Naruto, "She's a real pretty one their brat, you might want to make your move before someone else does!"

Naruto was about to voice his disapproval but Sakura did it first, "I'll have you know he doesn't have to bother with any moves you old perv!"

Jiraiya make a comical show of feeling sad before mumbling about being called perv. He waddled over and rested his head on Obito's shoulder. "Your generation was always so much nicer Obito." He started crying comical tears, "This new generation knows no respect!"

Naruto had stopped paying attention as he just looked to Sakura. What had she meant by that, she had kissed him before he fought Gaara but that was for good luck wasn't it?

Rin walked in the room and saw the door broken off its hinges sitting on the floor. "I want to know who did this!" She said eyeing everyone in the room before everyone in the room pointed to Obito including Jiraiya.

"Bunch of snitches," He said as Rin pulled him out of the room by his hand.

XXXX

Obito and Rin were sitting in the waiting room of the hospital across from one another in separate chairs. Rin had been worried about telling Obito about this since she found out. "Obito I have something very important to tell you; I would have told you earlier but everything happened at the exams then we were under attack."

Obito watched his wife curiously, "Are you ok Rin?" He quickly felt himself grow worried about what he would hear next.

Rin took a deep breath before letting it out, "The past couple weeks I have been feeling funny, so before the exams I took a test." She immediately regretted staying so vague as she watched Obito spiral out.

What did she mean a test, is she dying what will I do if that happens I can't take another…

Rin had lightly smacked Obito on the face leaving her hand resting on his face snapping him out of his thoughts. "I'm pregnant Obito!"


	21. The Day We Met

To say Obito was blindsided would be an understatement. He just blinked at his wife who was smiling and waiting for his answer. "I…" He paused still trying to process the information.

Rin leaned forward until her face was just a few inches from his face, "You're going to be a daddy and I'm going to be a mommy." She could see the light in his eyes and was actually already feeling embarrassed for whatever he was about to do.

In the blink of an eye Obito was outside on top of the Hospital holding a confused and dizzy Rin. "You hear that Leaf Village; I'm going to be a daddy!" He screamed at the top of his lungs so everyone could hear it.

XXXX

Team 7 had been part of everyone all sitting in the hospital room they all celebrated differently. Naruto tried to bounce out of his restraints so he could dance, but he was stopped by Sakura's celebration as she pulled him into a hug. Sasuke just smiled and nodded, in his opinion the world could always use more Uchiha's.

XXXX

Gai had been walking to the hospital to check on Lee when he heard the booming voice of his friend radiate through the whole village. "Yes the power of youth lives on in the next generation!" He screamed as he started sprinting to the hospital.

XXXX

Obito and Rin were wide eyed hearing Gai, he used the same trick that Obito did to make his voice louder. Rin looked at Obito, "You told everyone so you get to handle 'the power of youth'." She said giggling in her husband's arms.

XXXX

Naruto was in heaven right now Sakura was holding onto him for dear life and he didn't want her to ever let go even though she was making it hard to breathe.

Sakura remembering that the object of her aggressive affection was still hospitalized let him go earning her a puppy dog eyed look from the blond. "Oh calm down baka." She said with a big smile of triumph.

Sasuke smirked at the antics of his two best friends. "Well since dobe is awake I'm going to head home and get some sleep, I leave you in the wonderful hands of Chef Haruno."

Naruto glared at his friend, "Oh I forgot." Sakura said picking up the bowl of soup and putting more into his mouth. "Eat up Naruto so you can get better quicker."

Naruto was taking the abuse because he was still restrained in his bed and because it was from Sakura. The only other person he would take being treated this way was Rin but she was a great cook. He remembered she had been taught by the girlfriend of her sensei.

Sakura noticing the look in Naruto's eyes and that this was the first time they had been alone in days spoke up, "Naruto I think we need to talk about what was said during the invasion."

The blond was dreading this, "No that's fine Sakura more soup please." He said opening his mouth wide, he would much rather suffer her cooking than her rejecting him.

"No Naruto we need to talk about this." She said as he nodded accepting that this was going to happen. "Did you really mean what you said; that you love me?" She was most worried about that; she knew Naruto had a crush on her but love was something entirely different. Most of the girls in their class had crushes on Sasuke but none of them actually loved him.

Naruto nodded at her, "From the first moment I saw you Sakura. Do you remember that?"

Sakura shook her head and Naruto started to tell the story of their first meeting.

XXXX

 _Naruto was bouncing on his heels as he walked next to Big Brother Obito, he was so glad that he had a day off just to play, lately it was just him and Big Sister Rin most nights because Obito worked all the time. But today it was just the guys and he was so excited to go to the park with big brother._

 _Once Naruto saw the park ahead he took off running as he saw Obito running after him to keep up. Not looking where he was going Naruto he slammed into something tripping him as he ran. "Ow that hurt." Naruto said rubbing his head, "Watch where you're…" Naruto froze losing all sense of language as he looked at the image in pink in front of him._

 _The first thing he noticed was that tears were starting to well up in her eyes he reacted immediately, "Hey I'm sorry are you ok? My name is Naruto; what's yours?"_

 _The young girl rubbed the tears out of her eyes, "Sakura." She said trying to hold back the tears leaving her hand on her forehead just a bit longer._

 _Naruto gave her a big bright smile, "It's nice to meet you Sakura do you want to play?" He asked reaching his hand out to her._

 _She looked at him curiously, most kids didn't want to play with her. She didn't care why he wanted to play; she extended her hand into his and they ran off to play._

 _"_ _So much for just the guys." Obito chuckled as he took his seat on a bench watching over Naruto and the little girl because he didn't see any other adults._

XXXX

Sakura was gently smiling at Naruto, "I had forgotten about that. Since back then?"

Naruto nodded smiling, "Then after we joined the academy I never stopped, even when Sasuke moved in shortly after every time I saw you I would light up."

Sakura was moved by the blond at that point. If anyone had asked her how she felt that day she was just happy that someone else wanted to play with her. But by the time they were in the academy she had become friends with Ino and the other girls who all fawned over Sasuke and ignored the dead last that was always hanging out with him.

She brought him into a hug again but this one wasn't as bone crushing as the first one had been so he was content to just let her hold him.

XXXX

It didn't take Naruto long to realize that she had fallen asleep. With a smile Naruto jiggled releasing his restraints and carefully put Sakura back into her chair and let her sleep with a big goofy smile on his face.

"When did you figure out how to get out of the restraints?"

Naruto turned to the side and saw Jiraiya leaning against the window. "When Obito yelled his announcement." Naruto said smiling and looking back at the sleeping pinkette.

"You did well kid." Jiraiya said to Naruto meaning every word. "Few Shinobi in history have ever been able to say they tangled with a Biju and lived let alone win."

If Sakura hadn't been sleeping in the room Naruto would have been bouncing off the walls happy that he was receiving this praise; but he just decided to silently take the compliment. "So when do we leave?"

Jiraiya smirked liking this kid more and more, "Lady Rin cleared you for duty two days after you're released."

Naruto quirked his head confused, "Why do you call her Lady Rin?"

Jiraiya smirked, "What are they teaching you kids these days in the academy; since she is carrying the heir to the Uchiha clan she is Lady Uchiha."

Naruto shook his head confused, "I thought Sasuke was the heir."

Jiraiya looked at Naruto confused now himself, "Sasuke was never the heir to the clan. Technically Itachi would come before Sasuke and if Itachi isn't here the next in line would be the highest-ranking member of the clan; Obito."

"Obito is a clan head?" Naruto shouted but immediately covered his mouth as Sakura stirred a bit but did not wake up.

"That's the way it goes in clan politics kid it sucks but without an elder council no one else can make those decisions." Jiraiya said leaning against the panel on the window.

Naruto stayed silent at that, "Does Sasuke know?"

"I'm sure he does. But from what I can tell it has never bothered him, that boy wants two things in life."

Naruto looked back to the Sanin, "Two? All Sasuke has wanted is to avenge his family by killing Itachi."

Jiraiya nodded, "That's the first thing, but the second is to protect his new family. That means you Naruto."

The realization hit Naruto like a ton of bricks after having it explained to him it made perfect sense.

"He's already lost one family he refuses to lose another."

Naruto looked down at his hands and thought about their little family. Obito and Rin would be starting their own family by bringing a child into the world. Sakura had wiggled her way into their family easily enough; and Sasuke was the brother Naruto never had. "He won't that's a promise."

XXXX

In the distance a man wearing a cloak was making his way to the village. As he walked his red eyes watched the landscape carefully for anything that could be a danger. Being back here could end with him dead but right now he had a job to do. "If the rumors are true that snake will pay for hurting my dear brother." Itachi Uchiha said as his eyes came upon The Village Hidden in the Leaves for the first time since he had left.


	22. A Clan Head is Born

Obito was walking through the village without a care in the world he was still walking on air at the news that he was going to be a daddy. Nothing had made him this excited in a long time, it was even enough to help push out the tragedy that he had endured just before finding out.

He also had to think about the mission Naruto was going on without him or the rest of the team, Jiraiya had asked him personally if he could take Naruto under his wing. Obito couldn't refuse the man now that he was able to be a part of Naruto's life, they had both lost Minato that night so now Jiraiya was ready to do his part to turn the knucklehead into a force to be reckoned with.

Luckily because the village council didn't want an all-out riot attacking the ninja who had saved them all from a tailed beast they had all agreed that the official story was that the Biju fight everyone saw was just another genjutsu used to instill fears into the civilians.

Somehow it had worked, not that he was complaining seeing Kyuubi fight like that scared him to death that they had all lost Naruto. But seeing him sitting in his hospital room just as lively as ever put all his fears to bed.

As he was walking he noticed something out of the corner of his eye he was hoping that he wouldn't see for a long time. He was pulled out of his thoughts by Asuma and Kurenai approaching.

"Hey Obito." Asuma said with an unlit cigarette in his mouth.

"I'm sorry I haven't congratulated you on your big news until now." Kurenai said gently, "What are you up to this fine evening?"

Obito smiled, "Ah just catching up with an old friend that I heard was in town."

Itachi clenched his fist that he had been found so easily.

"Oh well we'll let you get back to it." Asuma said taking the hint.

As the duo walked away Obito turned, "Enjoy the rest of your date you two."

Asuma waved back at the Uchiha while the genjutsu mistress blushed.

Seeing that the seat was now empty Obito made his way into the abandoned Uchiha district to the place he knew he would find Itachi.

In the main hall under the seventh tatami mat from the right he opened the small passage and entered. He saw that the fires were already lit and a man in a cloak was inside reading the tablet. "Have you shown this to Sasuke yet?" The man asked.

"To be honest I considered destroying the place." Obito said casually as he walked next to Itachi with his Sharingan active. An Uchiha was only allowed in this room if they had awakened their Sharingan and then could only be in the room if it was active. Obito may have been dense but he still respected tradition.

"I wouldn't blame you to be honest, this thing is the reason everything went south anyway." Itachi said not changing from his usual blank expression. "Is it true what I heard? Has Orochimaru cursed Sasuke?"

Obito nodded, "Same as Kakashi and Anko before him. I put a seal over the mark but it only holds it at bay some times. Orochimaru is coming for him and I'm not sure what else I can do."

"I do." Itachi said as he turned to leave the shrine.

"We both know you'll never find him. Not even Jiraiya the great spy master has been able to locate him at a location he is currently at. He hides in his holes and the second someone finds where he is that's when he moves again."

Itachi had already left leaving Obito staring at the shrine remembering that night because it was burned into his memory forever.

XXXX

 _Obito was walking to his home past the Uchiha district when he noticed all the lights were already out. "It's too early for everyone to already be in bed." He said to no one in particular. He decided it wouldn't hurt if he looked, Rin hadn't been expecting him until morning anyway so a few minutes couldn't hurt._

 _Within a few feet of entering what he saw shocked him to the core, the street was littered with bodies. He ran ahead trying to find the person who did this; his Sharingan already active ready for anything._

 _He rounded the corner and saw both of Fugaku's sons staring at one another, without warning Sasuke screamed to the sky, "Brother why are you showing me this?" Then with just a loud scream he collapsed to the ground._

 _"_ _Itachi what happened here?" Obito asked running up to the brothers._

 _If it bothered him to see the banished Uchiha he didn't show it. "Ah Obito, I had heard you were out of the village."_

 _"_ _I just got back who did this?" Obito asked checking Sasuke's pulse. But as he looked up at Itachi he saw that his Sharingan was different._

 _Itachi drew his sword, "I know you have it; tonight we battle both of us possessing the Mangekyo." Without warning he charged Obito slashing his sword at the older ninjas chest._

 _Obito jumped away from the attack looking at Itachi who kept his calm demeanor in check. "Why Itachi?"_

 _"_ _To test my ability."_

 _"_ _Bullshit we both know you were one of if not the strongest member of the clan so that doesn't cut it with me." Obito stood up and readied his kunai for battle. "Now let me truly test your ability Itachi Uchiha!"_

 _Both ninjas charged the other, it was clear that Itachi was warmed up already and someone had put up a decent enough fight to get him limber. Obito tried to lunge his kunai at his foes leg but that didn't work out as Itachi threw his legs to the side avoiding the blade putting Obito off balance. Seeing an opportunity in the fight Itachi kicked his elder away and formed the necessary hand signs, "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" Itachi yelled as the fireball hurled itself at Obito._

 _Shockingly Itachi felt exhausted from the fighting but the other Mangekyo user had disappointed him._

 _"_ _I said let me really test you Itachi!" Obito said walking out of the fire showing no burns on his body at all._

 _Itachi quickly noticed the change in his eyes. "At the beginning of this day four Uchiha possessed this great power. Now there are only two, they didn't make it this far and they were some of the best this clan had to offer. Yet you remain the reject of the Uchiha who was permitted to leave when it was decided you were not enough to be an Uchiha."_

 _Obito smirked as he pulled another kunai out now wielding one in each hand. "I guess I'm just full of surprises kid. So show me what it is that makes you so special!" This time Obito charged ahead ignoring all signs of his danger because right now it would take an incredible feat of skill to even touch him._

 _Itachi swung his sword but hit nothing as it sailed right through Obito's mid-section. Seeing the advantage Obito punched Itachi in the jaw hard enough to break Itachi's normally calm and stoic face._

 _Looking at Obito Itachi started to show his first bits of emotion, the first of which was confusion. He knew that sword strike would have torn him in two, he had thought it was just Obito's bone headedness that left him that open but it was intentional._

 _Obito smirked seeing Itachi's hesitance at being outsmarted, this time he went to a handstand and pushed off as both his feat landed squarely under Itachi's chin knocking him into the air._

 _After landing Itachi looked at the cocky face on the older Uchiha, he had never fought someone that could outsmart him so this was new. This time he went for the attack slicing through Obito but prepared to hit nothing as he used his forward momentum to try and punch him but still went hurdling through him._

 _Having had enough of this game Itachi turned to Obito and made eye contact, by the time Obito realized his mistake it was too late. The two stood on top of the Hokage tower looking at one another._

 _Obito looked up seeing the sky had turned red and the clouds were rolling too fast. "Considering it's yours this genjutsu isn't exactly subtle Itachi."_

 _The younger Uchiha just watched his elder marvel at the genjutsu. "Why are you like this Obito? Why even after facing the man who killed your entire family are you able to keep your composure and continue this act of being a moron?"_

 _Obito turned to Itachi, "I am not a moron!" He yelled loudly swinging his arms in the air as he breathed heavily in a comedic manner. Taking a breath, he tried to compose himself, "I saw right through you Itachi someone is pulling the strings; you're good but you're not that good."_

 _Itachi was taken back after hearing that. "What gave me away?"_

 _Obito started laughing finally letting himself fully relax, "You just did, man for someone that everyone calls a genius you sure are pretty easy to trick."_

 _Itachi again was confused by the man in front of him. Not only was he able to get the better of him in combat but even now when he was caught in one of the most powerful genjutsus ever he still acted the fool. The only other person who took Itachi this lightly was Shisui. "You aren't acting the fool are you; you really are this way?"_

 _Obito calmed his laughing wiping a tear away, "It's true most of the clan took you too seriously while they didn't take me seriously enough."_

 _Itachi too relaxed as much as he would ever allow himself. "You are a strange one Obito Uchiha. I suppose you deserve to know why I killed our clan." He then went on to explain how the Uchiha had been blamed for the nine tails attack even after it was confirmed to be Orochimaru. How the Uchiha had been planning to overthrow the Hokage in retaliation in what would have been a bloody civil war. How Shisui had planned to use his ultimate Mangekyo to prevent such a thing from happening but he was stopped._

 _"_ _Danzo Shimura, he is the man that gave me the order and is also the man who ruined the last chance to save our clan. I have been sworn to secrecy about what I have done and every Uchiha most die, except Sasuke I told them that I could not kill my little brother."_

 _Obito nodded, "You said all but Sasuke so I take it that you still plan to kill me then?"_

 _Itachi nodded, "I dealt you a blow that would kill any normal man."_

 _Obito nodded understanding the meaning behind Itachi's words._

 _"_ _I do have something to ask of you though." Obito perked up waiting to hear the request. "Take care of Sasuke. I worry that after this he will lose himself. I want him to be the one to kill me for what I have done but I don't want him to lose himself in the process."_

 _"_ _Don't worry about Sasuke I will take good care of him. I'll move us all into a larger place."_

 _Itachi smiled looking at the ground he knew his brother would be taken care of now. "You realize this will effectively make you head of the Uchiha clan."_

 _Obito deadpanned hearing this, "Make me the what now?"_

 _Itachi let out one of the rare laughs he ever had. "Under the floor in my father's room you will find the battle robes every clan head has worn into war; it's yours now._

 _With that Obito felt himself be released from the genjutsu and Itachi was gone leaving him alone in the street with an unconscious Sasuke laying nearby._

 _Obito took a breath figuring Sasuke would be out for a bit longer he went where Itachi had guided him. He stepped around the bodies on the ground, being in the third war he was no stranger to corpses he just took effort not to look at their faces because Lord Fugaku and Lady Mikoto had never been unkind to him he bore them no ill will._

 _He opened the space that Itachi had told him about and inside was a box, he used a sealing scroll to hide the box and made his way back outside. He saw a group of Anbu checking on Sasuke after learning what he had there was no way he would trust someone wearing that mask. "Touch him and these streets will have your blood added to them."_

 _All the Anbu looked to Obito Uchiha and slowly let Sasuke back to the ground where he was checked over by the elder Uchiha. "If the Hokage has any questions for me tell him he can ask them directly in the morning for now I am going to take this boy somewhere safe."_

 _With that he walked away holding a sleeping Sasuke in his arms. It had started to rain as he was walking, it didn't take him long to reach his home where he saw the light on inside signifying Rin was still up._

 _XXXX_

 _Rin heard a knock on the door, curious as to what it was she dog eared the page of the book she was reading and went to answer it, what she saw next left her speechless._

 _Obito was standing outside the door in the pouring rain still holding the sleeping Sasuke in his arms. "Please don't be mad."_

 _XXXX_

 _Rin was still in shock her new husband had just brought an unconscious child into their house, this one wasn't there's she thought to herself. "Obito I know I brought in a child while you were out one time but this is insane."_

 _Drying his hair with a towel Obito explained the night he had leaving out the detail about Itachi being ordered to kill the clan for now._

 _Rin was covering her mouth speechless at what she had heard, she looked at the sleeping Sasuke and her heart melted. He was the same age as their Naruto and he had seen his entire family killed over and over again. She started to cry for the young boy when she felt Obito wrap her in his arms._

 _He didn't know what to say now and he really hated lying to her but before he did that he needed to speak with the Hokage in the morning._

 _XXXX_

 _The next morning Sasuke opened his eyes lazily and sat up with a start looking around quickly he had never been here before. He looked and saw that he was on a bed that pulled out of a couch he looked to his right and saw a pair of big blue eyes looking at him. "Ah!" Sasuke said being startled that someone was that close to his personal space._

 _The blond jumped back as well, being startled by someone screaming in his face, "Don't scream in my face teme!"_

 _"_ _You were already in mine dobe!" Sasuke snapped back at the blond who he recognized from his class._

 _"_ _Big sister Rin big brother Obito he's awake!" The blond shouted running further into the apartment._

 _Sasuke sat there wide eyed, he looked at himself realizing he was wearing different clothes than he was last night. Wait last night, it all came flooding back to him everything he had seen over and over, Itachi killed all those people 'to test his abilities'._

 _Rin rounded the corner looking at Sasuke, "Hi Sasuke my name is Rin I'm a doctor at the hospital can I check you for any injuries or sickness?"_

 _Sasuke didn't know what to say so he just nodded his agreement to the woman in front of him. As she was working on him he noticed on her back was the Uchiha symbol but he had never seen her before and he knew his brother had killed the others. "You know it's wrong to wear the symbol of another clan, right?" He said trying not to sound too angry to the woman that was medically handling him._

 _Rin giggled, "You're right Sasuke. My husband is an Uchiha." She said liking the way the boy thought._

 _"_ _I'll never get tired of hearing you call me your husband." Obito said as he came around the corner and smiled at Sasuke._

 _Sasuke had remembered seeing this man before, "Obito Uchiha." Sasuke simply said,_

 _Obito rubbed the back of his head. "Guess I left an impression huh?" He said smiling at the younger boy._

 _"_ _Father always said you never lived to your potential." Sasuke blankly said,_

 _Obito deadpanned at that before turning to Rin, "I'm going to kill him"_

 _Sasuke backed away from the two with fear in his eyes as he fought back the tears in his eyes. Obito could actually feel his heart breaking looking at the younger boy now. "I was just joking Sasuke." He slowly rested his hand on the boy's shoulder as not to spook him further. "We want you to stay with us from now on will that be ok?"_

 _Sasuke finally felt himself break as he cried he felt himself pulled into someone's arms he opened his eyes briefly enough to see it was Rin holding him rocking him back and forth as he cried. She was quietly humming a tune he couldn't quite place as she did. He continued to weep until he fell asleep again._

 _Obito nodded to Rin he had to talk to the Hokage now, he didn't waste time in getting there._

 _XXXX_

 _After reaching the door he knocked once before entering immediately. He was pleased to see both men he wanted to see were present in the room._

 _Danzo seeing Obito grimaced knowing that his plan failed. Obito spoke first. "Sasuke will be living with Rin and myself from now on, will that be a problem?" The boy turned man kept his Sharingan active as he stared down both older men that may even be stronger than he was but right now he didn't care._

 _Danzo spoke first, "I had actually thought the boy would benefit greatly from an education in the ROOT program."_

 _The other men in the room both said no but in different ways. "Try it and I'll beat you to death with your bum arm." Came Obito's response earning him a sharp glare._

 _"_ _I forbid it Danzo." Came the calm response of the Hokage._

 _"_ _I know everything." Obito said staring both men down again._

 _"_ _You know nothing boy." Danzo said as he stood up to leave the room but was blocked by Obito's arm for a moment as he leaned in to whisper in the older man's ear._

 _"_ _I will have your blood for all of this." With that Obito lowered his arm letting the old man go as he turned back to the Hokage._

 _"_ _I can't let you take him." Hiruzen said, "You already possess the Nine Tails."_

 _Obito curtly interrupted. "No me and Rin adopted Naruto who just so happens to be the jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails; there's a difference."_

 _"_ _The council will not see it that way Obito. They will see you trying to make a power play in the village." Hiruzen said opening a folder to begin doing paperwork. "Sasuke will be the sole heir of the Uchiha clan."_

 _"_ _I'm the clan head now and as a clan head I have the right to take any member of my clan into my home and that process cannot be stopped by you or anyone else in the village as is my right." Obito said sticking his chest out at the older man who at his prime was the most powerful man on the planet and currently was still one of the most powerful._

 _"_ _What right do you have to claim to be clan head?"_

 _"_ _As the oldest surviving member I am immediately given clan head status."_

 _Hiruzen smiled at last he had found someone besides Danzo he could verbally spar with. "Well now boy I don't…"_

 _Obito cut him off, "To anyone but you in this village I should now be Lord Uchiha so cut this boy crap alright old man!" Obito shouted at the Hokage._

 _Hiruzen smiled, the boy wasn't a master politician yet but he had the makings of one. "Alright Uchiha what is it you want?"_

 _Obito nodded, "Sasuke will come to live with my wife, Naruto and myself we will be finding new living arrangements for all of us as well because our small two-bedroom apartment will most likely not be enough in the coming years. We will be using a small percentage of the funds to purchase a house big enough for us and some growth just outside the compound which will remain in my name until I say otherwise."_

 _"_ _Do you plan on resigning as head any time soon?"_

 _Obito shook his head, "Only when Sasuke is willing and able will I relinquish the title to him."_

 _Hiruzen leaned back in his chair and thought about it. "I suppose with that case I would have no choice but to allow you to take young Sasuke under your wing for the time being."_

 _Obito nodded as he made his exit before being stopped by the Hokage spoke again, "I do hope Obito that you will show discretion with the secrets you know."_

 _Obito nodded before making his way out of the office and headed back home._

XXXX

Obito looked back at the exit of the Nakano shrine and climbed up the steps put the panel back as well as the tatami mat and made his way home to spend the rest of the day with his family.


	23. The Hustle

Naruto was following behind Jiraiya sluggishly waving his arms back and forth as he walked. "Uh so who is it we're looking for again" He asked the perv.

"I already told you brat we are going to find the Lady Tsunade so she can become the next Hokage." Jiraiya said as he rubbed his face exhausted at the boy's constant questions.

"I had been hoping you could teach me some really cool jutsu." Naruto was walking with his arms crossed with a big pout on his face.

Jiraiya pretended to think it over, "Well maybe there is one jutsu I can teach you. The jutsu that was created by the Fourth himself."

Naruto knew where this was going but he thought it would be funny to toy with the perv. "Really what kind of jutsu?"

Jiraiya pulled a balloon out of a sealing scroll and held it in front of the boy and went into detail on how to create the Rasengan and its first step.

Naruto took a balloon and popped it immediately.

Jiraiya stared slack jawed at the boy, did he just complete step 1 on his first try without even trying. "Fine but step 2 is much harder." He said as he pulled out a rubber ball, "See this one is slightly hollow but since it's made of rubber it will be much harder to break.

Naruto took the balloon and right after Jiraiya turned around he heard a loud pop causing him to turn to the blond holding pieces of a rubber ball. This kid is even better than Minato at just drinking in information.

"What's next?" Naruto said feigning excitement at learning the jutsu so fast.

Jiraiya silently pulled out a balloon and just held it there pushing his chakra through it without breaking it.

Naruto took the balloon and pushed the chakra in only letting small bumps appear on the balloon as the Sanin watched with wide eyed amazement. "Am I doing it right?" Naruto asked with a huge smile on his face.

Jiraiya dumbly nodded at the boy in front of him. "Can you do that without the balloon for me?"

Naruto nodded putting the balloon in his other hand and forming the Rasengan in his hand. He looked at the man in shock. This kid is the greatest genius the hidden Leaf has ever seen.

Naruto started laughing holding his stomach as he fell onto the ground in the middle of the road they had been walking on. "You should see your face!" Jiraiya watched the kid confused hunched over scratching his cheek. "Obito taught me that after I became a Genin pervy sage!"

"Stop calling me that you deceitful little troll!" 'All Kushina, damn it there's another one in this world.' Jiraiya thought to himself shaking his head.

After a couple more minutes of walking Jiraiya looked to the young boy who had a big dopey grin on his face just looking around. "So Naruto tell me, how did you use the Kyuubi's chakra like that?"

Naruto smiled to the older man, "No idea, Gaara was going to hurt my friends and I didn't want that to happen. Me and Kyuubi talked again and he told me he would help beat the one tail so I let him. The weird part was usually whenever I use his chakra it makes me angry but this time I just felt alive; I kind of liked it."

Jiraiya nodded hearing that, he had hoped the boy would have some clue as to what happened. "Have you tried since then?"

Naruto nodded, "Whenever I did all I would be able to feel was the angry red chakra not the good yellow so I would stop trying. Obito told me I'm not supposed to use the chakra unless I absolutely have to and if I do he needs to be there. Why is that?"

Jiraiya nodded, "It's probably because he's worried about you but also because the Sharingan is capable of neutralizing the Nine Tails chakra inside of you."

Naruto nodded his understanding. "So where are we going to find this old lady?"

Jiraiya chuckled, "It won't be that easy. She may be just as old as I am but she can look any age she wants."

Naruto cocked his head before the light bulb went off, "Like a henge?"

"Not quite her jutsu is caused by the unique medical chakra she possesses. She's the only person who has ever attained it, Lady Rin had tried for years but it's clear she never succeeded."

Naruto scrunched his face, did that perv just insult his sister, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Jiraiya put his hands up, "Easy their slugger, the sign that a ninja has attained this power is a small purple rhombus on their forehead." He pokes the center of the boy's forehead.

"The only reason we may be able to find her easily enough is because of her gambling problem." Jiraiya said looking ahead to the road they had been walking on.

XXXX

After a few days of travel Jiraiya and a very hungry Naruto arrive in a small village. "Come on Naruto let's go into this pub."

"I'm hungry not thirsty pervy sage!" Naruto said to the older man.

"Stop calling me that! This is a pub not a bar they have food!" The older man yelled comically at the boy.

The two entered the building as Jiraiya's eyes scanned the area he spotted exactly who he had been looking for. "Jackpot."

Naruto followed the man who sat at a booth across from two other women, one of them was around Obito and Rin's age the other looked like she was in her thirties. The purple mark on her head gave her away though.

"Hey there hime." Jiraiya said as he sat down at the table pouring himself a cup of sake.

"Jiraiya." She said simply not liking the fact that she had been tracked down. "Who's the brat? After your last student I had thought you gave up on teaching."

Naruto folded his arms, at first he had liked the idea of being compared to the Fourth but now it is just getting on his nerves. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki believe it!" He shouted for the entire pub to hear it.

"Pipe down!" Jiraiya said pulling the boy into his seat. "So I take you heard about Sarutobi Sensei?"

Taking a drink again Tsunade looked at him. "What of it? He made the foolish decision to take the hat back up, serves him right." She responded coldly.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Naruto screamed at the woman. "He died a hero fighting your teammate!" Naruto spat with a hint of extra venom.

Tsunade reached forward grabbing Naruto by his collar pulling him so their faces were inches apart. "Listen to me you little shit, I've lost more than enough already so excuse me when I don't feel like grieving for someone else." She let the boy go as he fell back to his seat.

Jiraiya took another drink, "The new Hokage has already been chosen."

Tsunade eyed the man, "Was it one of Minato's brats, the Uchiha?"

Naruto again spoke up, "His name is Obito!"

Jiraiya gave Naruto a hard glare that commanded him to shut his mouth. "They have chosen you Tsunade." He said so calmly as if it were obvious.

Shizune let out a gasp and Naruto just stared her down.

Tsunade took another drink, "I refuse. Every idiot who ever became Hokage died wearing that kami forsaken hat. I don't plan to be the next one."

Jiraiya took a deep breath, "I was worried about that. Sarutobi Sensei had wanted Obito to actually be the one to take the hat he was just keeping it warm until the boy was old enough to handle it."

Naruto was staring the woman down, maybe he could play her the same way he played Jiraiya. "You show no respect for the seat of Hokage Lord First, Second, and Third would be ashamed of you!" Naruto knew that she was the granddaughter of Hashirama and grandniece of Tobirama so calling her family out was sure to get a response.

The sake glass she was holding shattered in her fist as she looked at the boy, no one talked to her like this. "You want to take this outside brat?" She half yelled.

Naruto was already making his way out of the booth not breaking eye contact with the woman.

XXXX

The two stood ten feet away from one another. "Alright kid I bet I can beat you by using just my finger."

Naruto gulped feeling the coming dejavu he knew this was going to hurt but he had to stick to the plan. Naruto charged ahead with kunais in hand ready to take the beating he knew was coming. Just like with Rin, Tsunade took his kunai knocked his headband in the air and flicked his forehead.

Naruto could have sworn it hurt more this time. "Tell me brat," Tsunade spoke. "Why are you so hung up on becoming Hokage?"

"Because that's my dream, to be the greatest Hokage that ever lived believe it!"

He formed a non-fully formed Rasengan as he charged her holding it in both hands. Tsunade seeing that jutsu for the first time in years' panicked and slams her finger into the ground right before he makes contact.

Naruto hits the crater and makes his partial Rasengan explode him back the other direction, he ends up wedged in the cracks.

"Jiraiya was it you who taught this boy that jutsu? What reason is there to teach him the Rasengan; a jutsu that he will never master?"

Jiraiya saw the look in Naruto's eyes, he was playing her the same way he got played himself. "I am his teacher after all and I figured it seemed appropriate."

Naruto stood up, "I swear to you in three days I will have this jutsu mastered it's a bet."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, "What are your terms?"

Naruto grinned he had her now, "If I win you come back to the village with us and become the Hokage."

Tsunade laughed, "Fine if you lose though you abandon your life as a ninja forever."

Naruto smiled a confident smile, "That's fine I never go back on my word that's my ninja way!"

Tsunade smiled, "I'll see you in three days to take that headband of yours." She walked away as her assistant Shizune ran after her.


	24. A Time to Think

Jiraiya walked over to the dizzy Naruto once he was sure that Tsunade was out of ear shot he spoke up. "I can't decide whether that was a stroke of genius or the mistake that will get you killed?"

Naruto smiled, "I've always known that old grandma was a sucker so why not take advantage of the situation? What should we do the next three days?"

Jiraiya palmed his face, "Have you already read the books I gave you?"

Naruto nodded, "A few of them were tough but I was never very good at book work in the academy anyway."

Jiraiya had neglected to tell Naruto that most of the books he gave him were intermediate difficulty seals. Jiraiya figured the boy must just be a natural with seals. "I actually want to train you in trying to use the fox's chakra. Do you have any of the chakra suppression seals I taught you how to make?"

Naruto nodded, "I put a bunch in this sealing scroll." He said pulling a scroll out of his weapon pouch. Jiraiya reached for the scrolls but Naruto pulled it away, "Nope these are mine." He said with a cocky smirk.

Jiraiya looked at the boy, "I'm using them in case you go berserk on me you gaki!"

XXXX

The next day the two were just outside the village. "Alright kid, you know the drill push out all of your chakra."

Naruto formed a group of shadow clones and then an all-out brawl broke out between them all.

XXXX

After a few minutes, only one Naruto was left standing and he was panting from exhaustion, "Ok let me see if I can coax some chakra from him." Naruto said as he closed his eyes searching for the yellow chakra again but all he could find was the red one. "The red one is the only one there."

"Keep searching." The Toad Sage said watching the boy.

Naruto dug deeper trying to reach past the red chakra when he felt his legs were wet. He opened his eyes and found that he was inside Kurama's chamber again. He quickly looked around trying to find the biju.

"I don't sense that you are in danger what do you want?" Kurama asked barely opening his eyes from his slumber.

"Pervy sage is trying to teach me how to access your chakra at will." Naruto said rubbing the back of his head like he had just got caught with his hands in a cookie jar.

Kurama let out a big huff, "You can only use my chakra when I let you. Since you aren't in danger and there are no other Biju nearby to beat down than I don't care."

Naruto scratched his chin, "So you only helped me with Gaara because he had Shukaku?"

Kurama opened his eyes fully to look at Naruto again checking for deception and seeing none. "I am the Nine Tailed Fox the strongest of the Biju I can't let you lose to their jinchuuriki. So I gave you a bit more power than usual, I'm still not sure how you used it with that yellow form and not the red chakra."

Naruto sat down not realizing he was actually inside Kurama's cage. "Maybe it was because of why I was fighting, maybe it was only because I was fighting for someone else and you giving me so much chakra."

Kurama smiled maybe this kit won't be so bad after all. "Perhaps but do not try to harness my power. Unless of course you intend to let me out." Somehow Kurama's grin seemed to grow.

"Ah!" Naruto shouted at the grinning fox, "Don't go acting all weird Kurama!"

XXXX

Naruto opened his eyes and saw that Jiraiya was watching him with a curious look. "Where did you go?"

Naruto then began to tell the pervert about Kurama's cage but still didn't tell him the name, Kurama had asked him to keep it a secret and he saw no harm in it.

Jiraiya continued to rub his chin, "So what you are saying is that Kyuubi didn't want you to lose to Ichibi so he pumped you full of chakra?"

Naruto nodded, "But he said he wouldn't do anything like that again unless another Biju was there."

Jiraiya took the information and thought on it.

XXXX

Sasuke was walking through the village his hands in his pockets, with Naruto out on assignment and Obito doing jonin level missions it didn't leave him and Sakura with much to do in the village. She found that she could keep busy by working in the hospital leaving him without much to do during the day.

As he was walking he figured that it wouldn't hurt to stop by Team 8's training ground. What he saw had him interested at first. He noticed quickly that the three genin were all sparring in a free for all. He could tell that Kurenai had spotted him but he made no moves against them so she let him be.

Sasuke could easily tell that Hinata was dominating the other two in their fight, the only thing that gave her trouble was Shino's bugs and she was able to dodge them because she could constantly keep an eye on each individual one.

XXXX

As Hinata was fighting she spotted her favorite Uchiha crouched in a tree simply watching so she decided to show off a bit more. As Kiba and Akamaru charged her she ducked under their attacks hitting a chakra point on both of them as they passed and then using their already in use momentum to throw them both at Shino who was not prepared for that.

"Damn it Hinata! Using the Byakugan like that is cheating!" Kiba yelled trying to stand up with a blocked chakra point was not easy.

"We both used our family techniques why can she not use hers you ask? Because hers surpasses ours." Shino said in a weird neutral tone.

Kiba started sniffing the air, "Why do I smell snake and fire?"

Sasuke was shocked at that, did he really smell like snake? He subconsciously rubbed the curse mark that felt warm to the touch.

"Well if it isn't our fearless leader." Kiba said once he spotted the Uchiha. "After everything that happened during the finals and with the attack I'm shocked they haven't already named you Chunin."

Sasuke jumped off the branch he was perched on and walked over to his former classmates. "All of our teams were built a certain way on purpose. You guys are a tracking team through and through I just used that knowledge properly." He said with a smile at the Inuzuka.

"During a siege it was impressive thinking Sasuke." Kurenai said smiling at the young boy.

"I suppose it would not be incorrect to call you the leader of the Rookie Nine as we have been called." Shino said calmly again.

Sasuke had actually not even thought about it that way. "Like I said I saw something that needed to be done and you all were the right people for the job."

"Sasuke is too modest you guys." Hinata said with a smirk, "I mean if it weren't for him the entire Leaf village would have fallen." She said as she pretended to swoon into the boy's arms. "Give it a rest you two the hero worship is weird coming from you."

"Coming from the girl who's banging him." Kiba said under his breath but Kurenai heard it.

"Kiba! I want you to apologize right now that is no way for a future clan head to talk!" She said one of the few times she ever raised her voice.

Kiba grumbled an apology not looking at the confused Uchiha or the angry Hyuuga.

Shino attempted to lighten the mood again, "So I hear the other members of your team have made themselves useful workers in the village as of late, what might I ask have you been doing Sasuke?"

If he were to be honest he would tell them that he had been training nonstop because no one would give him a mission without a squad. He saw no reason not to say just that though, "I've been training because the council won't give me a mission by myself because of my rank."

Hinata saw an opportunity to get more time with Sasuke. "Why don't you take a mission with us than Uchiha?"

Sasuke shook his head, "Sorry no offence I just prefer to work with my own team."

Kurenai nodded, "I can understand that for the longest time I didn't want to take on a mission without my own team as well. Don't worry Sasuke it will pass." She looked at her team and saw that they were all worn out. "That's enough for today I expect you back here tomorrow." With that she took her leave of the team.

"Guess it's for the best my sister needs some help with all the new puppies." Kiba said as he and Akamaru walked away.

Shino silently walked the other way leaving Sasuke and Hinata alone. "Want me to walk you home Hyuuga?"

"Always so romantic Sasuke." Hinata said sarcastically.

"Why be romantic for an unromantic girl?"

"Mm and he's quick witted. If only you weren't an Uchiha my father would love you." She said as she started walking away. "Thought you were walking me home Uchiha?"

XXXX

Sakura was sitting in her bedroom the moon light was shining in through her windows and she was looking at the picture taken of her team when it was first formed. Obito Sensei and Naruto both had matching grins, Sasuke was to the side smirking as much as his pride would allow him. These three boys had been together already for years, Naruto had been raised by Obito and Sasuke was taken in after a great tragedy.

They already had so much history together, and she was the intruder into that life. If she were honest she only felt that way at first but after the way they all treated her like she had been part of the group, just as long those feelings vanished. Unlike them she had a family that had always been there for her and they only had each other. Lady Rin had even said that Obito sensei never really had a family in his life either.

She remembered all of their times together as a team even though it had been such a short time she felt like they were her family just as much as her mom and dad. She smiled even brighter when she looked at the picture of Naruto, the boy who in the middle of an epic battle confessed his love to her. She giggled to herself thinking how that suited him perfectly it didn't matter if the world itself was ending he still thought about everyone else.

When he got back she was going to tell him she felt the same she just had to find the right time to do it.


	25. A Lack of Hate

Naruto was standing across from Tsunade after the three-day period had ended. "Tell me honestly gaki before you humiliate yourself, did you actually perfect the Rasengan?"

Naruto formed the spinning ball of chakra in his hand as he saw the busty blonde's jaw drop he slammed it into the nearby tree causing it to explode from the sheer force of the jutsu.

Jiraiya walked over to Tsunade, "He won the bet you know what you have to do."

Tsunade looked at the two men, "He already knew the Rasengan didn't he?"

Naruto broke down that was all he could take and he rolled on the ground laughing. "She fell for it pervy sage!"

Jiraiya put his hand on her shoulder, "He got me with it too don't worry."

"You really are the legendary sucker granny!" The laughing Naruto said as he was rolling on the ground.

"What did he just call me?" Tsunade said as she was held back by Jiraiya.

XXXX

It didn't take the group long to return to the Leaf village what they were not expecting however was the large welcoming party. Everyone lined the streets as they walked to the Hokage tower. "How did all these people already know I was coming?" Tsunade asked Jiraiya.

"One night when you all were sleeping I sent out a messenger toad ahead of us with the news." Jiraiya said as he waved to the people of the village.

XXXX

Naruto was searching the crowd for a couple people he had missed, the first ones he noticed were a smiling Rin and Obito holding her in his arms upright as they watched the entrance. Naruto was about to stop to say hi but Obito stopped him making him continue on with the Sanin. Next he saw his best friend smiling at Naruto's return and a pouting Hinata next to him. Naruto gave them both a wave as they continued walking.

XXXX

As Sasuke watched his best friend continue to walk past he felt an itch at the back of his mind tell him. "He doesn't need you anymore." And, "He makes you weaker." Followed by, "You lack hate." Sasuke tried to shake it off as just his imagination but it still was faintly there in the back of his mind.

XXXX

Naruto continued to look for one more person but as they reached the Hokage tower he was sad that he couldn't find Sakura. Jiraiya noticed the look, "Come on brat you're a hero I'm sure you could get any girl you want. I hear the Yamanaka girl is single.

Naruto pouted, "I just wanted to see Sakura."

Shizune noticed the pouting boy but continued; Tsunade needed to get settled in.

XXXX

After the long walk through the village Naruto made his way back home he had hoped to find Sakura but he had no luck. He didn't dare go to her house again especially after last time he never wanted to go there again. He opened the front door and saw that nobody was home yet so he went to the kitchen to make himself some instant ramen when he heard the door burst open.

XXXX

Sasuke was walking back from dropping Hinata off when he got the feeling he was being followed, he instead made his way to an apartment complex that had a large tree in the center, with all the clothes lines he would be able to use his Sharingan to see them giving him an edge.

He jumped up onto one of the roofs and instantly a man appeared. He had silver hair that was pulled into a pony tail and rounded glasses on his face. "Ah hello there Sasuke I've been wanting to meet you."

Sasuke noticed the Sound headband immediately. "Orochimaru must be getting pretty lax if he sends someone like you to do his dirty work."

The man smiled, "My name is Kabuto I'm very excited about getting to work with you in the future."

Sasuke looked Kabuto up and down. "Get lost. You aren't worth my time."

He was about to turn around to walk away but without warning the curse mark began to burn. Sasuke dropped to his knees clutching the skin where the mark was.

"Good it works. Lord Orochimaru told me how to trigger your curse mark remotely, you have a better chance of beating the Shinigami than you do myself." Kabuto walked closer to Sasuke and knelt down in front of him. "I think it's time you finally came where you belong Sasuke. I mean with us you'll finally have the power you need to kill Itachi."

Kabuto knew that Orochimaru was scared of Itachi and Sasuke did have the best chance at stopping him so just convincing the boy to kill Itachi would be simple once he was in Orochimaru's control.

Sasuke grit his teeth trying to fight the pain but he slowly felt himself being yanked away. He opened his eyes again and he wasn't in the Leaf anymore where he was now being a blank nothingness. He saw in front of him a man dressed just like him only this man had pale grey skin and a cross slash on his face.

"I can give you what you really want Sasuke, just give in." The man said. Without warning the scenery changed and Sasuke knew what it was, this was the night his family was killed.

He ran the path he had run in his nightmares more times than he could count but this time when he rounded the corner where he would always see Itachi killing Naruto what he saw was the grey man wielding the Chidori and stabbing it through Itachi with Naruto, Obito, Rin and Sakura all alive and watching.

Naruto bounded up first, "Great job Sasuke now we're all safe."

Rin hugged the pale man, "You've saved us all thank you Sasuke."

Obito put his hand on the fake Sasuke's shoulder, "I have never been prouder of you than I am right now."

"That's my boy." The words bore through Sasuke's mind as he saw his own father and mother approach him.

The imposter turned to the Sasuke that was watching, "This could be yours, you can protect all of them just give into the mark and they will all be safe."

XXXX

In the real world the curse mark grew across Sasuke's body going farther than it ever had before. Kabuto leered at the Uchiha as he breathed in pain.

Sasuke let out a scream of pain and started to run away he was going home. He couldn't think much beyond the fact that he was going home. He tried pushing the door open but that somehow translated to punching it open.

XXXX

The door splintered throughout the room. Naruto jumped at the loud noise, he looked to see what it was and he immediately felt his heart drop, Sasuke was standing there and the curse mark was clearly active and stronger than it ever had before.

"Naruto." Was all Sasuke's scrambled mind could get out.

Sasuke turned on his heel and bolted out the door, Naruto followed quickly behind but as he was chasing Sasuke he felt a small senbon pierce a point in his back preventing him from moving.

Kabuto walked toward Naruto, "Now, now boy we can't have you stopping Sasuke now can we?"

Without warning Naruto felt himself pass out.


	26. This Is Family

The first sign to Naruto that he was waking up was a bird pecking at his head. He looked up and saw that it was clearly morning of the next day. The memory of what had happened just before he fell made him jump up and look around. He knew which way Sasuke went so he would have to go that way. He was in a dead sprint, but he knew better than to go after Sasuke alone he would just get himself killed he needed a team.

Naruto ran quickly to the places he would expect the people he needed for this, his first priority was finding a way to track Sasuke which led him to the Inuzuka compound Naruto could tell the place smelled of dog but it wasn't a nasty smell it actually smelled nice to him. He quickly found the person he was looking for playing with a small dog.

"Kiba I need your help Sasuke left the village and we need to go after him." Naruto said as he ran to the boy and Akamaru.

"What happened?" Kiba urgently asked. After Naruto explained the situation Kiba quickly agreed to come along.

XXXX

Next Naruto had to think of someone who would be able to keep an eye on Sasuke once they got in range which left him with two options he could bring Hinata or Neji. After their fight in the exams he doubted Neji would be willing to come he just hoped Hinata was up for it.

The two quickly made it to the Hyuuga compound and went in quickly trying to find the girl. They found her sitting by a koi pond reading over a book. Both boys and dog ran over to the relaxing Hyuuga. "Hinata we need your help." Naruto started and after he explained the predicament. Hinata ran into her house.

As she came out she said, "There's no way I'm letting Uchiha leave me here with the rest of you alone."

Both boys looked at her feeling slightly insulted but were pleased that she was up for helping. Naruto now had to think he also needed a heavy hitter to help here but first he needed to alert the Hokage about what was happening she may not have gone through the ceremony but she was still the Hokage.

XXXX

Naruto and company burst through the office doors where the new Hokage was sitting at her desk looking at a document funny before her head snapped up at the intrusion. "What is it gaki I'm busy."

"Sasuke has been taken by the Leaf to Orochimaru."

She immediately forgot about the papers she had been working on, "What do you need?"

"I already have Kiba here to track Sasuke and Hinata to get a better idea of what we are up against once we get there."

Tsunade nodded seeing the boy's logic. She dug through some papers pulling out the dossiers of available ninja, she was worried this would be the case, all available jonin are away on mission including Obito. She would consider sending Rin but she was pregnant.

She wrote a number of names down and handed it to Naruto. "Tell these ninjas they are to accompany you three on this mission. As of right now Naruto you are a Chunin and in charge."

Under other circumstances the boy would have been jumping for joy at the news but right now he had work to do. He quickly left the room and ran outside followed by Hinata and Kiba. "What names do you have their Naruto?" Hinata asked.

Naruto read it over, "Rock Lee, Choji Akimichi, and Shikamaru Nara. We need to split up to find them the second you get them with us meet at the gate." The other two nodded darting off in different directions, Naruto was going to get Shikamaru.

XXXX

Shikamaru was sitting on a bench just watching the clouds roll by. Now that all the craziness from the invasion had died down he finally had time to just sit and relax again. He heard the footsteps land next to him, he already knew this was going to be a drag.

Naruto looked at the lazy Nara on the bench. "We have a mission Shikamaru we need to go."

Shikamaru let out a groan, "Right now?"

"Yes right now!" Naruto barked back.

"I thought Sasuke was the boss." Shikamaru said back picking at his ear as he stood up. "What's the mission?"

"Sasuke ran off out of the village and we need to go after him he's not in his right mind."

"I was wondering when the curse mark was gonna start taking affect."

Naruto glared at the boy wondering how he knew.

"Lucky guess."

XXXX

After some time, the whole team had arrived at the gate. Naruto looked at the group that had assembled he still felt unprepared to lead but whatever it took to save Sasuke.

XXXX

The team moved at a quick pace being stopped from time to time by enemy ninja but they just pushed on through every now and then they would have to leave one of their own behind until all that was left of the squad was Naruto and Hinata. Lee was fighting that crazy guy with the bones, Shikamaru was fighting the girl with the flute, Kiba and Akamaru were fighting that weird guy with two heads, Choji had that big guy to deal with and luckily Hinata had been able to kill the freak with all the arms.

Now all that was left was the two of them, Sasuke and Kabuto. "Go Naruto save him I can handle this creep."

Naruto nodded darting off past Kabuto toward Sasuke. "Even the Nine Tails won't be enough to stop Sasuke now he has fallen into the grasp of Lord Orochimaru and he will never come out now."

Hinata grit her teeth, "You don't know them."

Kabuto give her a curious look "And why would that change anything?"

"Because Naruto never gives up, and Sasuke would never turn his back on family."

XXXX

Naruto finally caught up to Sasuke, the Uchiha was standing on the other side of a valley on a statue. Naruto jumped onto the opposite statue. "Sasuke, what are you doing?"

Before he turned around Sasuke was holding back a whirlwind of emotion. "Stay away Naruto this is the only way."

Naruto was confused by this, "What do you mean this is the only way? Let's go back to the village I'm sure pervy sage would have a look at you."

"No Naruto you don't get it!" Sasuke turned around to finally face Naruto one of his eyes was a sickly yellow and the other retained its normal black. "If I go with Orochimaru Itachi can never hurt anyone I care about ever again."

Naruto was gritting his fists. "I've told you before Sasuke that I would be with you when that day came!"

Sasuke fully turned now facing Naruto, "If you face him you will die. I am the only one who can defeat him it is my right to avenge my clan."

"Damn it Sasuke snap out of it already, we all came out this far for you; everyone risked their lives just to get you back home because they care about you!"

Sasuke looked down in sadness, "I'm sorry Naruto please just let me go." When he looked up Naruto was already on top of him.

The two skidded to a halt with Naruto kneeling over Sasuke both hands clutching the Uchiha's collar.

"No Sasuke, if you go with him that's it you will never come back and you will never be the same! It will break everyone's hearts if you die at the hand of that snake bastard! Just come back home again so we can be a family."

Sasuke could feel the curse mark flare up again causing him pain and clouding his mind. "What family Naruto?" Sasuke sneered at the blond, "Obito and Rin only adopted you because you were the poor baby their sensei choose to curse. If you didn't have that damn fox inside you then you would have grown up alone!"

Naruto could feel his hands shaking now while he held Sasuke's shirt.

Sasuke pressed on, "This idea of family that you have in your mind was all a lie, they don't love you all they care about is the legacy of the Fourth! I mean no one else would take you in so they took pity on you Naruto…"

Before he could speak again Naruto had already punched him. "Just shut up Sasuke, I don't care what you say you're my best friend and I won't let Orochimaru take you!"

He continued to punch him a few more times but Sasuke ended up kicking the blond away.

Naruto landed a few feet from Sasuke who was getting to his feet. "It's no use Naruto I have to go. Orochimaru can train me so I can kill Itachi after that I don't care what he does to me."

Naruto was done talking now he rushed back at the Uchiha and kicked him off of the statue. As Sasuke was falling he unzipped some ninja wire and attached it to a few shuriken hurling them at Naruto. Before the shuriken hit him, they struck one another and started to wrap around the Chunin pulling him down into the water with Sasuke.

XXXX

After the fall Naruto using his chakra pulled himself on top of the water he looked at Sasuke who was already standing on the water dripping wet. "You can't beat me Naruto, not when I'm like this." He gestured to his body that was still covered by the curse mark.

Naruto was now standing as the water dripped off of his body. "I don't care if I have to break every bone in your body I won't let Orochimaru get his hands on you!" What Sasuke had not noticed though was that Naruto had begun to use a bit of the nine tails chakra so when he threw out his fist a massive blast of wind knocked Sasuke back several feet.

Once he looked up Naruto was already upon him, Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the collar of his shirt spun him around and with a growl threw the boy into the air.

From that point Sasuke did the hand signs he needed, "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" The fire quickly descended on Naruto who cut the chakra to his feet and submerged in the water just below where the fire hit, the water was boiling him but using the Kyuubi's chakra he was able to quickly swim away.

Sasuke dropped down next to Naruto and brought his leg up to kick the blond but Naruto ducked under the hit and tried to bring his fist to the Uchiha's chin. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's fist before it made impact and used the force of the punch to vault over the blond and kick him hard in the ribs.

Naruto clutched his side and turned around bringing the back of his fist into Sasuke's head causing him to hit the water face first. Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the legs and sprinted right for the wall of the valley. He smashed Sasuke into the wall right side up making the Uchiha stick there.

Naruto grabbed Sasuke by the collar again holding him in place. "There, I won let's go home now Sasuke."

Deep down Sasuke wanted to just give in and let the blond take him, "Give up Naruto!"

Naruto brought his fist back and punched the Uchiha, "I never give up Sasuke!" Naruto thought back to the first day he had met Sasuke.

XXXX

 _Naruto got out of bed rubbing the sleep from his eyes while still holding his stuffed toy frog. His eyes snapped open though when he walked out of his room in the old two-bedroom apartment and saw someone sleeping on the pull-out couch. The only person who slept there was Big Brother Obito if he got in trouble. But he didn't remember any shouting last night._

 _He went to investigate the intruder, getting onto the arm of the couch he saw a boy his age sitting on the couch, he recognized him as Sasuke the boy from his class that was a really good student._

 _Sasuke started to wake up, Naruto leaned in closer to see the boy better. Earning a scream from Sasuke which made Naruto jump and fall off the arm. "Don't scream in my face teme!" Naruto said looking closer at the boy._

 _"_ _You were already in mine dobe!" Sasuke said back to the blond._

 _Naruto figured that whoever this was Big Brother Obito and Big Sister Rin would want to know. He ran to get them and lead them to the boy._

 _Obito pulled Naruto to the side while Rin went in to check on Sasuke, "Naruto why don't you go wait in your room for a bit longer me and Rin need to talk to Sasuke alone."_

 _Naruto nodded and went back to his room his stuffed frog still tucked under his arm._

XXXX

Sasuke looked up from the rock he was stuck in at Naruto who was breathing heavily with his fist drawn back to strike again. He felt the curse mark grow and spread farther. "Kami damn it Naruto, if you stay here this thing is going to make me hurt you. Just like with Obito and Kakashi."

Naruto squinted at the Uchiha, "I don't care. After all these years you should understand by now, you're my brother!"

XXXX

 _Naruto was sitting in his bed room and playing with his toy froggy when he heard the front door open and shut. Curious as to what was happening Naruto poked his head out of the room. He saw Rin sitting in a chair next to an again sleeping Sasuke._

 _Naruto walked over and stood next to Rin. "Big Sister Rin what's the teme from school doing here?"_

 _Rin pulled Naruto into a hug and was rubbing his back, "You don't need to worry about that just yet Naruto. He's going to be staying with us for a while."_

 _Naruto looked at the sleeping Sasuke still enjoying the feeling of Rin lovingly rubbing her hand on his back. "Is he sick?"_

 _Rin chuckled, "No Naruto he's not sick he just needs rest. It will be cool having him here won't it, it will be like you having another brother."_

XXXX

Sasuke was watching Naruto as he breathed heavily. "All you can do to save me Naruto is kill me so just get it over with."

Naruto spat blood out of his mouth off to the side, "Never! I would sooner take on the entire Sound Village, Orochimaru included before I let you die."

Sasuke's heart broke seeing how far Naruto was willing to go just for him. But no tears fell from his eyes instead his Sharingan evolved to now possess three tomoes.

Naruto saw the transformation and knew what it meant, he had struck a chord. "Are you ready to come back now?"

XXXX

 _Naruto had eaten his breakfast at the kitchen counter when he heard someone walk up behind him slowly. Naruto turned his head and saw Sasuke walking to the other chair with his head hanging low. "Hi Sasuke! Big Sister Rin made some breakfast she put yours in the microwave so it would stay warm."_

 _Sasuke nodded and looked for the microwave, he saw it and opened it seeing a plate of eggs and two strips of bacon. Picking it up he slowly walked back to the chair beside Naruto putting his food down and just staring at it._

 _Naruto looked at the boy puzzled, "You know for someone who's so good at ninja stuff you aren't very good at others."_

 _Sasuke turned his head, "What?"_

 _Naruto laughed, "Yeah the kid who's the best in our class right now doesn't know how to eat food! Just wait until I tell everyone!"_

 _Sasuke snarled at the dumb blond next to him. "I do too know how to eat." He said as he shoveled a bite of egg into his mouth. "See!" He shouted his mouth still full of food._

 _Naruto was at this point laughing hysterically, "You look like a hamster!" He was banging his hand on the counter as he laughed._

 _Rin walked out of her room having taken her shower for the day already and she saw Naruto laughing and a clearly unamused Sasuke. "What's going on here?" She asked the two._

 _"_ _Big Sister you should have seen it, Sasuke had a mouth full of food and he was trying to talk and he looked like a hamster!"_

XXXX

Sasuke kicked Naruto back across the water giving him enough space to pull himself free from the rocks. "Naruto if this continues the fighting will escalate and I won't be able to stop it."

Naruto having regained his balance took a fighting stance. "Then don't, come at me with everything you have and we can finally see once and for all which of us is stronger!"

Naruto felt the red chakra in his system but right now he was going to need it if he wanted to take on Sasuke.

As Naruto ran Sasuke was able to see every movement the blond made, he saw that Naruto had planned to feint an attack to Sasuke's left but actually hit him from the right with his leg. When Naruto executed the attack Sasuke was already in the ducking motion when he felt the wind of Naruto's leg pass over him he stood back up and punched the blond away from him.

Naruto nodded understanding what just happened prepared for another attack, as he was about to bring the back of his hand to the side of Sasuke's head he felt the kick to his chest push him back.

Sasuke could feel the curse mark burning stronger than ever as it spread all over the marking were now over a majority of his body he felt himself slipping but he still tried to hold onto his memories.

XXXX

 _Rin bonked Naruto on the head, "It's not polite to laugh at people Naruto, and Sasuke don't talk with your mouth open._

 _Sasuke feeling the anger in the pit of his stomach shouted, "You're not my mom."_

 _Naruto started to put distance between himself and the Uchiha. He had only said that to Rin once and he was unable to sit right for a month afterwards._

 _Rin felt conflicting emotions at the moment, on one hand she had been disrespected in her own home, on the other Sasuke did just lose his actual mother so she decided she wouldn't spank him this time. "I may not be your mother Sasuke but I am the woman of this household and you will behave yourself here am I understood?"_

 _Sasuke turned away angry, "Yes ma'am."_

 _Rin immediately relaxed again, "Great, now Sasuke why don't you tell me a bit about yourself I don't think we've ever met and Naruto only talks about you a little bit."_

 _"_ _I only talk about how he's a cocky teme!" Naruto shouted and was again bonked on the head._

 _"_ _You will watch your language when there is a woman in the room Naruto." Rin said correcting the boy._

XXXX

Sasuke this time went on the offensive Naruto couldn't match his Sharingan and he would be able to end the fight before anyone got hurt. What he was not expecting however was to see the blond forming the Rasengan in his hand.

Naruto charged forward at Sasuke he could feel his anger rising with the red chakra, he didn't know why Kurama was giving him so much right now, his life wasn't in any danger and there were no other biju around but he wasn't going to complain.

Sasuke was not expecting the sudden burst in speed from Naruto and barely dodged the spinning ball of chakra from his angle he was able to push it away from himself causing Naruto to fall into the water.

Naruto was picking himself up from the water and looking at Sasuke, he could tell his friend was still in his own mind but only just barely, Naruto would have to incapacitate him to bring him back.

XXXX

 _Naruto sat at the counter watching as Rin and Sasuke talked for what felt like forever, Sasuke was just going on about stupid things like how he was trained a bit by his dad. Which made Naruto wonder why was he here rather than with his family that he had been talking about. He did notice the look Sasuke would get in his eyes from time to time when he would stop talking._

 _It was the same look Naruto would see in the mirror when he thought about how he didn't have a mom or dad. He knew Obito and Rin loved him but that didn't stop him from wanting a mommy or a daddy. And here Sasuke was talking about his and still getting that look in his eyes._

 _Naruto never being one for tact spoke up, "Why do you keep talking about your mommy and daddy?"_

 _Sasuke looked down sad, while Rin rubbed her face stressed at the blond. Sasuke spoke up though, "Because they were killed."_

 _Naruto nodded understanding. "My parents were killed too." This got Sasuke to look up in shock, "They were killed the night the Nine Tails attacked after that Big Sister Rin and Big Brother Obito adopted me and they've been my family!" Naruto said with a big smile. "Are you going to be a part of our family too?"_

 _Sasuke looked around the room, he saw Rin who was very nice to him since they met, he thought about Obito and how he was going to take care of him. Lastly he looked at the smiling blond in front of him, the dead last of their class he never really understood why, he seemed good enough in a spar. Not seeing another choice and also acknowledging that they could have all left him to be alone._

 _Sasuke nodded, "Sure that sounds nice."_

 _Rin smiled and clapped, "Yay I'm going to make an extra special lunch for everyone once Obito gets back!"_

XXXX

Sasuke could feel the curse mark spread again this time covering every inch of his body making him appear grey with a black cross shape on his face. His hair grew out farther and began to turn a pale blue his eyes were stuck in their Sharingan form as he stared at Naruto.

Naruto saw the new Sasuke that was standing in front of him the scary part was Sasuke's once concerned face now turned upward into a sick twisted smile. Naruto could feel the Nine Tails chakra begin to boil off of his skin, if the fox wasn't also healing him the chakra would've just burned him away. Naruto hunched down as the chakra surrounding him took on the shape of a fox with a single tail.

Sasuke chuckled in a voice that didn't sound like his own, "Good Naruto I must admit the power you possess is nothing to bat an eye at but it's no match for my own."

Naruto gritted his now sharpened teeth. "I already told you Sasuke I will bring you back to the village! That's my promise of a life time!"

Within the blink of an eye the boys met in the middle their arms colliding and the nearby water moving from the shock wave. They both pushed off of one another and Sasuke ran up the side of the cliff and began a series of hand signs. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Just like with Neji he hid shuriken in the fire and sent each one down at Naruto who continued to back pedal so he wasn't hit.

Naruto formed his favorite hand sign and an innumerable number of clones poofed into existence. All of them charged at Sasuke on the wall creating an additional crater in the side.

Once the smoke cleared Naruto saw Sasuke standing there unharmed but he now had wings. "Let's end this now Naruto; no more games no tricks; my jutsu versus yours!" Lightning began to crackle around Sasuke's arm and he pumped the curse mark chakra into it turning it black.

Naruto seeing no other option created a Rasengan in his hand and waited until he saw Sasuke flap his wins and head towards Naruto.

The jinchuuriki jumped up to meet the Uchiha and as their attacks collided the entire area had been shaken from the sheer force of the blast and a black orb of chakra formed surrounding the boys.

XXXX

 _Naruto smiled at the dinner table of his new house, it had taken a bit of time but they moved everything over to make more room for Sasuke being with them now. Their house now felt huge it had a big backyard with space for training a bed room for everyone and an extra one. He looked around and saw Sasuke smiling while taking a bite of the tomato in his hand as Obito dramatically retold a story about some other ninja from another the village he met when he was on a mission that only spoke in rap. This is family Naruto thought._

XXXX

Inside the orb Sasuke felt his jutsu win out and he had the chance now to kill Naruto and stop him. He knew that if he did he would have all the power he would ever need to kill Itachi and even Orochimaru and he could go home again; but would it even be home without Naruto there. And what would everyone he cared about think of him if he killed his best friend just for power, shaking the thoughts away with everything he had instead of impaling the blond he punched him in the stomach.

XXXX

The energy died down leaving Naruto lying on his back unconscious, the red chakra had returned inside of him and he lay there. Sasuke stood over him as he heard clapping coming from behind him.

"That was quite the show Sasuke." Kabuto said as he let out a whistle. "I can really see why Lord Orochimaru was so keen on taking you. Maybe if we took him with us Lord Orochimaru could harness that raw power."

Sasuke turned to the silver haired medic as he radiated killing intent. "If you so much as touch him I will kill you and bring you back to be experimented on by Orochimaru." The words left no room to be argued Sasuke meant every word he said and even after a fight like that Kabuto was sure he would still lose to the Uchiha.

"Fine by me. Now let's go, Lord Orochimaru is not someone you want to keep waiting." The two left the still passed out Naruto but tucked into his arms was Sasuke's head band.

Sasuke looked back to where his brother now lay, "I am sorry Naruto I hope you can forgive me."


	27. See You Soon

The light was blinding as Naruto opened his eyes, he looked around and saw that he was in the hospital now. He got out of his bed and ran to the window he was in the Leaf again; how did he get back? The door opened and Sakura walked in and froze when she saw Naruto was awake.

"Naruto!" She said as she ran up and hugged him.

The blond stood confused when what had happened before he got knocked out flashed in his mind. Naruto looked down and Sakura was just holding onto him and not letting go so he put his arms around her as well.

Then he remembered everyone that was with him, he had left them all behind on their own so he could fight to save Sasuke. "Sakura what happened to everyone?"

Green eyes met his blue, Sakura wondered when did Naruto get taller than her. "They're all fine Naruto. Hinata, and Choji were touch and go for a while but Lady Tsunade isn't a legendary medic for nothing."

Naruto let out a breath he did not realize that he was holding, Sakura still had not let go of him. The hard truth was even though everyone got home he failed the mission, he failed his brother. And that fact hurt him more than any kunai or jutsu ever could.

He knew that Obito had entered the room but Sakura had not noticed. Naruto refused to meet the gaze of the older Uchiha. "I'm sorry Obito Sensei, I failed the mission and I failed Sasuke."

Obito watched his student, the boy who was basically his carbon copy feel the same pain he had. "I understand Naruto; but what I really want to know is what you plan to do about it?"

Naruto could tell that Obito was not patronizing him he really wanted to know what he planned to do.

"I mean you said you would bring Sasuke back and with your ninja way you have to do it; don't you?"

Naruto looked up at Obito with a big grin of determination. "Believe it."

XXXX

Obito was lying in bed, it was morning and he had to wake up soon, Naruto and Jiraiya were leaving the village to find any information they could on Orochimaru's bases they could. It was going to be weird for in another 7 months it would just be him and Rin and after that they would have a new baby in the house.

He was torn because he was looking forward to his baby but he still hated all that baby stuff. He already did it all with Naruto and that kid was a handful, he was just worried because he knew how bad he was when he was growing up now he was aware this was how fate punished children that misbehaved; their children would be just as bad if not worse.

He sat up in bed and put on the clothes he wore in the village it was a black Uchiha shirt that had the high collar and a pair of matching black pants. He walked out into the kitchen and saw Rin making a breakfast for them, they had both gotten the day off to see Naruto off. Who had gotten out of the house early to go be with Sakura.

Rin saw her husband walk into the room and she smiled at him. She was upset about the boys leaving for different reasons but she still couldn't get over the excitement of having a little baby soon.

XXXX

Naruto was sitting at his favorite ramen shop with his favorite girl they were having light talk about simple stuff like where Naruto was going to go. "I'm not really sure where pervy sage has us going. But I know he wants me to learn to control Kyuubi's power and to be able to try and find Sasuke." Mentioning his friend Naruto got sad again and started to slump in his chair.

Sakura noticed this behavior Naruto was just like normal until Sasuke was mentioned by anyone including himself and then he would just shut down and retreat within himself. "Well I'm going to miss you." She said trying to pop him back out of his funk.

Pop was the right word to use because he went from sad too happy again within moments. "I'm going to miss you too Sakura." Naruto said with a big smile for Sakura.

Jiraiya came into the stand, "Alright kid let's get going there's a crowd forming at the gate to see you off."

Naruto paid for his and Sakura's food and just as he was about to leave Sakura grabbed his hand. "Naruto I…"

The blond turned to the pinkette who was looking around hoping something would give her the courage to say what she wanted to say. "Yes Sakura?"

She pulled his arm pulling him towards her. She gently put her lips onto his. "I love you." She said as they separated.

Naruto smiled at the pinkette, "Wait for me?"

Sakura looked up at the boy that just a few shorts months ago was shorter than she was and she thought little of. If she could talk to her younger self now she would kick the other for not taking this man seriously. "Believe it." She said doing her best to imitate his smile. "Now go, if you don't go now I might not let you." She said as she wiped the tears away.

Naruto nodded and kissed her forehead. Before turning to walk away. She knew he had to go, there were things out there for him to do it would be selfish to ask him to stay.

XXXX

As Naruto and Jiraiya were walking to the gate the older man was watching the boy who had a determined look on his face. "So where do you want to go first kid?"

Naruto looked up to the older man. "I wouldn't mind going to see Yahiko and Nagato again." He said with a smile.

"Don't worry gaki they're on the list of people to see."

As they approached the gate Naruto saw all of his friends waiting for him. He felt proud as they all gave him knowing nods. At the end stood Obito and Rin, the latter of which was holding in tears, the former was not able to hold his in.

Naruto chuckled, "Come on Lord Uchiha show some dignity."

Obito rubbed his eyes, "I'm not crying I just got some dirt in my eyes."

Rin bent down to give Naruto a hug. "I'll miss you." She stood back up and turned her attention to Jiraiya. "I'm trusting him with you, you perv. I expect him back unharmed in two years do you hear me?"

Jiraiya rubbed the back of his head. "You should be more worried about me Lady Rin."

The Uchiha huffed and refused to look at the perv, "I'm not the only one who will hurt you if he gets hurt out there."

Jiraiya was about to ask who when he heard her clear her throat behind him. "Alright you big perv you take care of him ok?" Tsunade asked pointing a finger in his face.

"Relax hime, he may even come back with some moves for the ladies."

He was interrupted as both Rin and Tsunade hit him, "Like hell!" They both yelled,

Naruto and Obito both stared at the scene in front of them, "There's two of them." They said in unison.

Hinata walked up to Naruto, "Actually Uzumaki there's three. That pink girl of yours is just Tsunade 3.0."

Naruto hadn't seen Hinata since he got back, "I'm sorry I couldn't bring him back Hinata."

Hinata shrugged her shoulders, "Uchiha was always a complicated guy. You did everything you could and if I know anything about you, you plan to go out there and save him; right?"

Naruto shook his head, "You bet Hinata."

The Hyuuga princess smiled, "A promise from you is as good as gold. Now I need to go train can't have you and Uchiha getting too much stronger than I am."

XXXX

Naruto waved back to the crowd as he and Jiraiya made their way out of the village. "So where too first?" Naruto asked the Toad sage.

"Well Naruto…"


	28. What'd I Miss?

"Leaf Village, Naruto Uzumaki has returned!" The loud mouth blond shouted from the rooftops. He looked around the village realizing the only real change he can see is that granny Tsunade has her face on the Hokage monument.

Naruto looked to his left and saw where his old house was. He began to get excited at the prospect of being home again, he was so happy to see it again he was even able to ignore the thoughts of Sasuke and how he was no longer with them.

In the two years, he had been gone they had never found any sign of Sasuke and only whispers of Orochimaru that never panned out. The time limit on getting Sasuke back was running out soon the Sannin would be able to use his body switching jutsu and take Sasuke for good.

But for now, he was just happy to see his home again. He jumped off the post landing beside the smiling Jiraiya. "Alright kid it would probably be best to check in with Tsunade now before we do anything else."

Naruto nodded as the two toad summoners walked to the Hokage tower in the center of the village.

XXXX

Sakura was doing her usual rounds in the hospital checking from patient to patient when as she passed a window she would have sworn she heard a voice that she recognized. "Naruto?" She said looking out the window but not seeing anything. She assumed it was just the wind playing tricks on her mind so she went on about her business.

She smiled when she saw the head of the hospital hard at work on a little boy. "Lady Rin hello."

Rin turned and saw Sakura approaching her, she returned the smile she was given, "Hello there Sakura. Any day, now right?"

Sakura scrunched her face confused at the woman. "Any day now for what?"

"Don't play coy with me Sakura I've seen the calendar in your office counting down the days."

Sakura crossed her arms, "I don't know what you mean Lady Rin." She walked past her mentor with her nose in the air hoping that her blush wasn't too obvious.

Rin chuckled to herself at the lovesick girl. She knew Naruto was going to be home today because her and Obito had received a letter from the blond. But the letter had asked that no one be allowed to know of his return even the Hokage was to be kept in the dark of the blond's return.

XXXX

Tsunade was busy working on the bane of her existence; paperwork. After the past two years, she could understand why the Hokage's before her were willing to rush to their graves having to deal with so much bureaucracy was draining.

Just as she was about to reach for the bottle hidden in her desk a knock came from the door. "Come in." She said trying to hide the anger she was feeling at the moment for being interrupted.

It wasn't long into her job that she discovered that every Hokage had a vice that they used to relieve their stress. Her sensei had hidden many of Jiraiya's smut books in his desk that took Tsunade weeks to find and dispose of all the trash. She was lucky that Rin was willing to take them away so the Hokage wouldn't be seen with them.

When no one entered the room, she grit her teeth as she stood up and opened the door; seeing that no one was there not even Shizune confused her. Her assistant was always at her desk unless it got late.

Confused she turned around and dead panned seeing that her massive chair was missing. She ran to the desk and looked all around but was unable to find a trace of her chair. She ran back to the door opening it. "Shizune get in here!" She shouted to the empty hallway.

Starting to panic the Hokage turned around again and saw that her chair had been returned but now the desk itself was missing; with all her papers on the floor in the same manner she had arranged them on the desk.

Her head was darting from side to side trying to figure out what was going on, giving up on her solo search she exited her office hoping she would find Shizune to help her.

Coming down the spiral stairs she saw her assistant staring blankly ahead. "Shizune where have you been?" The Hokage asked waiting for an answer from the stuttering woman. "Never mind I need you in my office now!" She grabbed the woman who was still sputtering nonsense.

Opening the office door, she saw that her office was back to normal again. She turned back around to dismiss Shizune when she found that now she was missing. Tsunade put her hands together hoping this was all some genjutsu prank, "Hai!" She shouted to the air with no change in the room.

She went around her desk and with a heavy sigh started to sit down, her eyes went wide when she realized that once again her desk chair was missing and she landed squarely on her bottom.

She grit her teeth in anger when she heard laughter coming from the other side of her window. She stood up and walked to the window looking out of it and seeing that no one was there and the laughter was gone. "What the hell?" She asked to no one?

"Maybe you're going senile granny." Came the response from behind her.

Tsunade whipped around saw a smiling Naruto and a flabbergasted Shizune standing next to him who also seemed to be nauseous. "Damn it gaki how did you do that?" Her anger at the boy was greater than her shock at seeing him back.

Naruto looked at her puzzled, "How did I do what? I'm just here to say hello to my favorite Hokage and you fell out of your chair and shouted at Shizune who was standing right here."

Tsunade glared at the boy even more until he broke out laughing. "Ha-ha I got you granny!" Naruto yelled in between laughs.

XXXX

Jiraiya was standing on top of a building that looked at the Hokage tower. "Brought him back just like you asked. Kid could probably take on just about any jonin in our village with what he's learned."

The other man that was with him laughed, "Well he's not the only one who's done some training."

Jiraiya cocked his head at the other man, "Oh and who might I ask trained you Lord Uchiha?"

Obito turned his head smiling at the Sannin. "Clan secret sorry."

"Cheeky bastard." Jiraiya said looking back to the tower. "Think we should get in there and save him from a beating?"

Obito nodded, "Yeah I guess so, if we don't stop it either she's going to go insane or he's going to get a concussion.

XXXX

Tsunade was now grinding her teeth at the orange clad blond rolling around on her floor. "Shizune do you know what happened?"

"No milady, I was just sitting at my desk and then felt really dizzy and was in the lobby again."

Tsunade was shocked to hear that, "Could this kid really know it?" She was bewildered looking at the blond who was just now catching his breath.

Right as she was about to speak she was interrupted by two people entering the room. She grinned maniacally realizing that Naruto was now alone in a room with the best medical ninjas in the world, one of which raised him. "Ah Lady Rin and Sakura."

Hearing those names Naruto stiffened and stopped laughing immediately.

"Naruto here just finished playing a prank on me to make me feel old and senile."

Naruto could hear the knuckles cracking as they approached him. He began to pray to any god that was listening. All his prayers went unanswered as he was grabbed by the collar of his shirt and his blue eyes met bright green for the first time in two years.

"You baka, you leave me for two years and when you finally get back instead of coming to see your girlfriend you play a prank on Lady Tsunade?" Sakura shouted at the blond she was holding.

Naruto smiled when she referred to herself as his girlfriend, when he was pulled in another direction and he looked at big brown eyes and purple markings on the face of his sister.

"And before you come to see me, Obito and the baby!" She was not happy with the blond who was clearly scared of the situation.

Obito and Jiraiya had been listening from the window and slowly started to back away not wanting to get caught in the middle of this.

Rin grit her teeth, "Obito you get your ass in here I know you knew about this."

The Uchiha slowly crawled in through the window not making any sudden moves. "Love you." Was all he said hoping it would get him out of trouble.

Rin quickly gave him the look telling him that it did not work.

Both men closed their eyes as they were hit multiple times each by the three women in the room.

XXXX

A bruised Naruto and Obito sat on a couch with an untouched Jiraiya who was pretending to be disappointed in the two. "A joke on your Hokage, why I've never seen something so disrespectful…"

He was cut off, "Oh stop it Jiraiya I know you were in on it too."

The toad sage started to fiddle with his fingers, "Sorry hime when he had the idea I couldn't resist."

Tsunade let out of huff, "I suppose it's a good thing the two of you have returned after all. Naruto tomorrow you are to report to Training Ground seven for a skill evaluation."

Naruto nodded, and could feel the throbbing in his head move as he did. He looked to the side as a green chakra hand touched his face.

"Honestly baka, I had hoped you would be a tad more romantic in coming back." Sakura said to the blond.

Naruto just smiled glad to be home.

 **AN: Alright I'm back with updates after working solely on revisions this weekend. The only changed I have made were grammatical** **and added one scene during the battle of the leaf, it's not a huge thing but I just felt it was needed to get the point across. I am really excited about Obito's training that will seriously come into play later in the story. It's good to be back and updating again though.**


	29. Space and Time

Naruto was walking back to his home with Obito, Rin and Sakura. "So what's been going on while I've been gone? I can't wait to meet the little baby." He froze, "If you're both here where's the baby?" Naruto began to panic when Sakura smacked him on the back. "Thankyou." He looked up, "So where is the baby I can't wait to meet him."

Rin chuckled, "He's being babysat by shadow clones, don't worry Naruto."

Naruto nodded his understanding, "That seems like cheating."

Obito laughed as they all entered the front door. Another Obito leaned around the corner holding a small baby with black hair. The clone handed it to Rin before poofing away.

Rin turned to the blond, "Naruto I would like you to meet Kakashi Uchiha."

Naruto smiled at the name knowing the importance behind it, "Hey there little Kakashi, my name is Naruto." Naruto held the little boys hand in between his fingers and slowly raised it up and down his smile never fading.

XXXX

Sasuke was sitting in a dark cave, he knew he was running out of time with Orochimaru, the sick freak didn't have much left to teach him that Sasuke wanted to learn. Soon he would head out on his own and hunt down Itachi. But to do that he would need a team, his first thought was to get Naruto and Obito, but he didn't want them to get hurt in the chaos so he needed people that were capable and at the same time disposable.

He had already thought about this many times over the past few months. It had been two years since he came to the Sannin and while he had gotten stronger he still had not killed Itachi and that was a part of the deal of him coming here. He knew it was best here not to show any emotions because the other subjects as they were called were all out for their own survival which left Sasuke to himself most days.

Except for those few times when Orochimaru would train him, Sasuke never stopped hating the man and wanted him dead almost as much as he wanted to kill Itachi. Sasuke knowing that his best bet at getting out so he could kill Itachi was to kill Orochimaru. But killing a Sannin was no easy task and the idea made him a bit nervous. So he would wait until Orochimaru was weakened and defenseless, needing to change bodies.

XXXX

Naruto sat at the old dining room table again looking at his family, he noticed that Sasuke's chair next to him was still left empty. Sakura sat to the other side of him and across the table he watched Obito scarfing down his food and Rin feeding baby Kakashi.

Sakura was watching Naruto just looking at his family again. She was worried though to see that look in his eyes, she still knew that look, it meant something was bothering him. "Naruto what's wrong?"

Naruto looked at Sakura and quickly tried to cover it up with a big smile, "Nothing Sakura I'm just glad to be home." Sakura didn't relent she kept staring him down, "It's just…" He whispered to her, "They've started their real family now, they don't need me here anymore."

Sakura was upset, she was upset that Naruto felt that way. She knew how much his family meant to him, she refused to bring up the part of it that was missing now though. "I'm sure that's not true Naruto; they love you."

Naruto nodded, "I know they do but I've spent enough time being here with them. They don't really want me living here"

Rin's ears perked up and she turned to the blond and pinkette whispering to one another. "Did I just hear that right Naruto?"

The blond in question was staring ahead like a deer in headlights.

"Do you really think that?" She secured Kakashi in his high chair and walked over to the blond.

Obito had stopped eating because he wasn't really sure what was happening.

"Naruto we love you, hell me and Obito are the people that raised you of course we want you to still live with us you baka." She grabbed the blond making him stand up then pulled him into a hug. "Kakashi may be our son, but you are still our first baby."

Naruto relaxed into the hug, he always liked it when Rin hugged him like this it made him feel safe. "Thank you Big Sister Rin." Naruto said hugging her back.

Rin held Naruto out at arm's length and looked him over. "When did you get so tall?"

"Right?" Obito shouted to the group. "He's almost as tall as me now, it just isn't right." He turned to baby Kakashi. "You better stay shorter than me for a long time you hear me?"

Kakashi made a happy baby noise at his father who kept smiling at him.

XXXX

Naruto was now standing across from Obito ready for their spar. "Alright sensei let's see what you've really got; no more holding back like when I was a little kid!"

Obito nodded closing his eyes and opening them revealing his Sharingan. "Alright Naruto let's see if you're as good as Lord Jiraiya's last student." Obito knew the comparison bothered Naruto so this would usually get him riled up.

Naruto just nodded, having accepted that he would be compared to the Fourth for a long time.

Jiraiya stood in between the two, "Alright you two I want a clean fight, all forms of jutsu are accepted but I can intervene and call the match whenever I want." He turned to each combatant getting a nod from each, "Alright Shinobi combat begin!" He shouted as his land lowered in the space between them.

Naruto charged first at the Uchiha wanting to press him quickly, unfortunately he had neglected to think about Obito's Sharingan and their predictive abilities. As he was about to strike Lord Uchiha began to dodge the blond's strikes with finesse.

Obito noted how Naruto's form was now much cleaner than it had been before. The mistakes were almost impossible to count before but now he was something different.

Naruto kept throwing his fists and wasn't even able to leave a scratch on Obito, taking a chance Naruto jumped back putting some distance between the group.

XXXX

Jiraiya, Tsunade, Rin holding Kakashi, and Sakura were all watching the fight that was happening when Jiraiya spoke up. "He's about to use it get ready and don't blink."

Rin and Tsunade were both taken back from those words, the only time they were used like that was when referring to Minato.

Sakura leaned in intensely watching the fight in front of her. She could tell that Naruto was most likely still holding back, but she knew Obito Sensei was.

XXXX

Naruto and Obito both watched the other, both panting a bit from the exhaustion when Naruto pulled out a kunai and charged forward at Obito who also charged.

Before the two met Naruto threw the kunai just past Obito's head. If not for the Sharingan he would have missed it he knew exactly where he had seen that exact kunai before so, he readied for his trump card. Naruto formed the Rasengan in his hand ready to strike.

Naruto was going to wait for the absolute last moment before he would strike he knew Obito was smart and had been training while Naruto was gone but he didn't know what that meant. Right as Naruto was about to reach Obito who was reaching out to grab him the blond vanished.

Knowing what was happening Obito activated his mangekyo and warped away to his Kamui world before immediately reappearing.

Naruto thrusted the Rasengan he had into the space that Obito was just in. His eyes widened in shock when he saw the foot appear seemingly out of nowhere and hit him square in the face. Naruto sailed through the air slamming into a tree shaking the leaves off of it.

XXXX

Tsunade and Rin all stood slack jawed at what they had just seen take place in less than a second. Naruto was about to win using a special jutsu but without moving Obito was somehow out of harm's way and kicking Naruto.

"How did they?" Sakura asked confused more than any of them, "Naruto and Obito sensei moved so fast, how?" She had started to struggle to form sentences in shock about what she had just watched.

XXXX

Obito walked over to Naruto who was leaning against the tree falling in and out of consciousness. "I'm going to tell you now; had you been fighting anyone else in the world that move would have worked. But I'm not called Lord Uchiha for nothing." Obito said with a big smile.

Naruto tried to stand up, "How did you?"

Sakura appeared next to Naruto, "Don't try to move baka, that was a pretty tough hit. You're done doctor's orders." She said pulling the confused blond away.

Obito stood watching the two teenagers sit next to another tree when his wife approached him. "Before you get mad, I have it under control."

Rin stared at her husband. "You know how I feel about you using it. Is that what you were doing when you were out training for those six months?"

Obito lowered his head, "Please don't get angry, it's safe for me to use it now."

"Why because some man that appeared one night in our bedroom said it was?"

Obito lowered his head, "You know I had to go. We've had this discussion before and it's in the past so just leave it be." Obito said looking at his wife.

"I'm angry because I care about you Obito, I don't want you going blind and not fulfilling your dream baka."

Obito smiled and pulled Rin and baby Kakashi into a hug. "I know and I love you for that Rin." He said kissing the top of her head.

XXXX

Jiraiya and Tsunade had watched the entire fight and were worried themselves. "How did you teach him that jutsu?" Tsunade asked her old teammate.

Jiraiya shrugged, "I didn't. He figured it out himself, and after that I showed him some of Minato's kunai that I had been keeping for sentimental reasons."

Tsunade nodded, "So does he know?"

Jiraiya took a deep breath, "No but I wish I could tell him he does deserve to know."

Tsunade nodded accepting that.


	30. Nine Lives and Nine Tails

Naruto was leaning on Sakura as they both watched the moon while they were lying on top of the Hokage monument. Sakura scooted closer to him, "So you going to tell me about what happened while you were gone?"

Naruto chuckled, "You really want to know about my trip?"

Sakura smacked his chest playfully, "Of course I do baka. You hardly had a chance to write me at all."

XXXX

 _Naruto and Jiraiya slowly walked through the rocky plains of the area just outside the hidden cloud village. "Alright kid, I have an in here in the Cloud so I'm going to need you to keep your mouth shut in there."_

 _Naruto pouted, "I'll show you keep my mouth shut."_

 _"_ _What was that?"_

 _Naruto puffed his cheeks following the Sannin._

 _XXXX_

 _After some paper work the Sannin and blond were standing in front of a large man who sat behind his desk looking at the papers in front of him. "You actually think this is a good idea toad?"_

 _Jiraiya nodded, "What hurt could it do for them to meet?"_

 _The Raikage chuckled, "I heard about what happened in the Leaf you all aren't as good at keeping secrets as you think you are."_

 _Naruto tensed he thought everyone thought it was a genjutsu._

 _Ay stood up and looked at the boy. "Nine tails jinchuuriki. Huh, years ago my predecessor tried to kidnap yours. She was probably a bit younger than you when we took her but she was saved. Now you come walking into my village."_

 _Jiraiya tensed hoping to Kami that he had not made a mistake bringing him here._

 _"_ _Tell me kid I'm curious who is your father, you look like someone I fought once."_

 _Jiraiya was now terrified that the Raikage figured it out with just a glance at the boy._

 _Naruto shook his head, "I never met my father he died the night the Nine Tails attacked. I was raised by another family though."_

 _Ay smiled at the boy the answer was enough for him. The thought of another yellow flash existing in the world terrified him, the thought of him being an enemy even more so. He knew the Fourth Hokage was a kind man so maybe that trait passed along to his son, maybe him having a friend in their village would make him hesitant to do anything against it._

 _Ay took his seat, "I will allow the jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails to meet the jinchuuriki of the Two Tails."_

 _XXXX_

 _Naruto was sitting in a small room with a table in front of him and Jiraiya clearly set for tea. He always hated these damn tea ceremonies so this made him a bit uncomfortable to say the least._

 _After a few minutes the door opened revealing a blonde woman Naruto guessed to be just a few years older than he was. She did a quick bow while her face showed how much she hated having to do it._

 _Naruto could again feel the bubbling in his belly from Kurama probably trying to assert his dominance in the situation. "You don't have to be so formal with me…" Naruto just realized he didn't think he even heard her name once._

 _"_ _Yugito Ni." The woman said curtly to the boy. "What reason do you have for meeting with me Uzumaki?"_

 _Naruto made a face at her, "I just wanted to meet more people like me. I'm on a trip around the elemental nations so I wanted to meet the other Jinchuuriki. I've already met the One tail's jinchuuriki."_

 _Yugito cocked her head at that, "Oh you have met others?" The only other jinchuuriki she had ever met was Bee and it had only been for a moment._

 _Naruto nodded, "Me and him fought, and now I've met you." He smiled at her and his hand touched his stomach. "Does your chakra feel funny too?"_

 _Yugito curtly nodded, "Nibi is cautious of you."_

 _Naruto looked sad at that, was he really the only person who bothered to ask the name of a tailed beast. He decided to change that. "What's Nibi's name?"_

 _Yugito reacted shocked but only for a moment. "I didn't know she had one. The two of us have never seen eye to eye."_

 _Naruto smiled, "I know how that feels Kyuubi pretends to not like me but he told me his real name."_

 _"_ _Then why not call him by that?"_

 _Naruto laughed, "He asked me not to so that he could still be scary."_

 _Yugito had to try hard not to laugh at that. "I see. Next time I speak with Nibi I will be sure to ask her real name."_

 _Naruto smiled, "Great, if us jinchuuriki can work together with our tailed beasts we will be unstoppable!"_

 _Jiraiya chuckled at the thought of little Naruto wielding the full power of the Kyuubi._

XXXX

Sakura was just watching Naruto tell his tale of how he met the two tales jinchuuriki. He had neglected to say her name to Sakura because he had agreed to that with all the jinchuuriki's he met. "So you know Kyuubi's real name?"

Naruto smiled that was the thing she noticed the most from that whole story. "Yeah I do, but like I said he asked me not to tell anyone."

Sakura understood but now she was curious, this was the same Kyuubi that attacked the village the day Naruto was born but also the same one that saved them all from Gaara. "What's he like?"

Naruto had not been expecting to hear that question, no one had ever asked him what Kurama was like. "You mean like how he looks?"

Sakura shook her head, "I know that baka, I mean his personality, likes, dislikes, hopes for the future?"

Naruto mulled it over in his head, he did know Kurama pretty well, even if the fur ball refused to acknowledge that they weren't enemies. "He's very stubborn, and callus, and kind of enjoys making people uncomfortable."

Sakura smiled thinking about the massive Nine Tailed fox just teasing someone. "I would like to meet him someday." She said as she fell asleep lying next to Naruto.

That was the icing on the cake no one had ever wanted to know about Kurama much less meet him until now. Every now and then Sakura would do something that would remind him why he loved her so much. He kissed the top of her head before expertly taking her in his arms.

It was at this point that Naruto didn't know what to do with Sakura. It was getting late and she needed to get home but he didn't want to go to her house. The old guest room is now Kakashi's room. That left him with one option, with a deep sigh and knowing he may be on the receiving end of a beating or lecture he began his journey home.

XXXX

Naruto came into the living room using the Hirashin marking he had made earlier when no one was looking. He slowly went into his own room laying Sakura on the bed, covering her with the blankets and gave her forehead a kiss.

As Naruto was leaving his room where he left the sleeping Sakura he saw Rin just a few feet away bouncing on her heels trying to hold in a squeal.

"Naruto that is so gentlemanly of you I feel so proud." She said in a hushed voice as she pulled the blond into a hug. She pushed him back to arm's length and looked at him seriously, "You better be sleeping on the couch Naruto Uzumaki." She said using his full name for emphasis.

Naruto smiled, "Don't worry big sister Rin, I had already planned on doing that I just didn't want to go to her house.

Rin waved the boy off, "I figured as much but Sakura moved out of there shortly after you left."

Naruto looked at Rin confused, "Um why did she leave?"

Rin took a breath leading the blond into the living room. "Because of you baka. After the incident with you and Sakura's father their relationship ended for all intents and purposes. After you left it all came to a head though."

XXXX

 _Sakura was sitting at her families dining table eating a rice ball as her father rattled on about nothing until one part caught her attention. "And that damn Fox brat left the village, I'd say good riddance but we all know he will be back things can't go that well, now can they? At least now Sakura you won't have to be on the same team as him."_

 _Sakura could feel the rage boiling inside of her now she had never talked to her father about the way he had treated Naruto when he came to bring her a flower out of fear but enough was enough. "Just shut up."_

 _"_ _Excuse me young lady? You may be a ninja but you still live under my roof so you will treat me with respect." The man yelled slamming his fist on the table. "Am I understood?"_

 _Sakura's teeth were now clenched and the anger she felt toward her father was something she had never felt before. "Naruto is a great man. He's a better man then you will ever be."_

 _That was it for the Haruno man, "Who the hell do you think you are talking to me like that? I'm just looking out for your wellbeing and you compare me to that shit stain dem…" He was unable to finish his sentence as he was slammed on the table with a kunai to his throat._

 _"_ _Finish that sentence dad." Sakura spat the last word, "I don't care what you think anymore, Naruto is more than a friend to me and I will not tolerate you speaking to him that way. I will be gone by morning." She slammed the kunai in the table before walking away from the still shaking man._

XXXX

"And then she came to us for a few days. We let her sleep in your room because that's where she wanted to sleep. She said it made her feel safe even though you were gone." Rin said watching the reaction Naruto had on his face.

"She gave up her family for me?" Naruto was trying to hold back the tears. If there was one thing he had learned from his older brother it was that it was ok to cry sometimes.

Rin nodded, "Yes she did. And no one could convince her otherwise."

Naruto wiped his sleeve over his eyes, "She shouldn't have done that."

Rin was shocked to hear Naruto's answer.

"Giving up a family is a terrible mistake. I'm going to talk to her tomorrow about that. I'm going to get some sleep thank you for the talk Rin." Naruto walked off and collapsed onto the couch passing out immediately.


	31. Council Battle

Obito hated these meetings with a passion, the council meetings were usually a boring event that happened every month, with the occasional meeting called in emergency but those are rare. This one however pertained greatly to him, they were going to be discussing whether or not they would answer the summons of the Akatsuki and join in the war against Hanzo.

He looked around the room already guessing some of the sides that would be taken, the Inuzuka were known for always siding with whatever the Hyuuga said, the Yamanaka, Akimichi and Nara clans generally voted as a group; the Aburame were always a wild card. Everyone there was already aware that Obito was in favor of aiding the Akatsuki.

"I call this meeting to order." Tsunade said to the room. "Since this is a war time matter I would like to receive a vote from you as a group to help me in making the decision, even with a vote I still have the final decision on the matter though."

Everyone in the room nodded, they were aware that when it came to village day to day and stability the council voted to decide, but in matters regarding Shinobi the Hokage always had the final say.

Danzo sitting to the left of Tsunade spoke first, "You cannot really be thinking about going to war with this mad man Lady Tsunade. The Sannin and a group of other ninjas all fought him and the three of you were the only survivors what hope do the rest of us have at stopping him let alone the rebel group known as Akatsuki?"

"What are their numbers?" Shikaku asked the group as a whole. "If we were aware of that it would be easier to make a decision. I have personally met the three leaders and while they seem like good people three people isn't an army."

"Their numbers range from two to three hundred ninja and around three hundred non-trained combatants." Obito said speaking up.

"With all due respect Lord Uchiha;" Danzo said, "but you are a friend of the three rebels that Nara had just mentioned, are you not?" Obito nodded acknowledging the fact as true. "Then you cannot be impartial in making the proper decision for our village. I call to have the Uchiha clans vote withheld on the matter." He said to the room.

"Denied." Tsunade said to the older man without looking at him. "Obito Uchiha not only knows Akatsuki he has fought with them. He is the only one in this room that is even remotely aware of their abilities."

Hiashi finally broke his silence, "If the village were to aid the Akatsuki what would we have to gain?"

Obito knew that Hiashi was a sensible man and thinking about what could be gained was something everyone needed to consider. "If Akatsuki should overthrow Hanzo and retake the Village Hidden in the Rain they would disband and be reabsorbed into their village; forming an alliance with the us as a result."

Hiashi nodded before Danzo spoke up. "That is only if we are able to win, should we lose we would just be at war with a smaller village and it would appear to be a power play by the other four great villages. When war again comes, we do not need to feel weak; might I remind everyone it has only been two years since the Sand and Sound attacked us. Going into another villages war could leave us weak, weak enough to be attacked by another village."

Obito was now scowling at the man, "Men like you are the reason we are in this mess Danzo."

"Excuse me?" Danzo said offended.

"You need to explain where you are coming from Obito." Inoichi chimed in.

"Men who seek only to protect themselves and to hell with the rest of the world." Obito said trying to hold in his frustration at the group. "The Five villages were originally founded by Hashirama Senju in an attempt at uniting people. He even went so far as to distribute the tailed beasts to the different villages to keep the peace."

"We don't need a history lesson Obito what's your point?" Choza said.

"My point is, the original plan was to keep peace, not to constantly be at the cusp of war." Obito said looking around the room to gauge everyone's reactions.

"Well that unfortunately is not the world we live in. The world is controlled by fear, fear of the larger villages, fear of the tailed beasts and fear of each other." Danzo spoke again.

"But that's only because men like you remain in power." Obito said not caring about insulting the older man anymore. "People like Lord First who fought so everyone else could have peace. Men like Lord Fourth who died so the rest of the village could live in peace. Lord Third who died in an attempt to stop more violence. You Lord Danzo fight to win and that is all. And that is why you will never become the Hokage."

The killer intent that filled the room after that became palpable. The other leaders in the room started to move in their chairs uncomfortable with the way things were going.

"You know nothing boy, all those men you named are still dead and we are no closer to peace." Danzo said staring down the Uchiha.

That was it for Obito not only did Danzo disgrace his own former sensei he also spoke ill of the dead. "We'd all be dead if not for Minato Sensei and you know it! None of us would even be here if it weren't for Lord Third, Orochimaru would have won and taken the village for himself or just burned it to the ground!"

"Foolish Uchiha always pretending they can see everything with those eyes of theirs." Danzo said to Obito. "Too bad the mad man Itachi didn't kill you and that traitor brat!"

Obito was about to shout back at Danzo but was interrupted.

"Enough!" Tsunade shouted standing in her place. "I called this meeting to discuss what should be done about Akatsuki not for the two of you to attack one another verbally. I want a vote now."

Everyone in the room looked from side to side. "All in favor raise their hand all against abstain." Tsunade said to the group watching the hands go up. "The council has voted in favor of aiding the Akatsuki. The matter of the vote is final; I will think it over myself later. For now all but Lord Uchiha are dismissed."

The room cleared out leaving Obito alone in the room with Tsunade. "In my office Obito." The two left the room and walked to the Hokage's office.

XXXX

Inside the office Tsunade was rubbing her face trying to relieve the stress. "What the hell was that?"

"I believe that aiding Akatsuki would be best for the Leaf." Obito said.

"Not that, I don't disagree with you on that part. But the way you and Danzo went for one another's throats like that."

Obito lowered his head, he had been told the secret he knew of Danzo and the Uchiha massacre, was still a secret to everyone that didn't already know. "I'm sorry Lord Hokage if I could tell you I would."

Tsunade was shocked at that, never had Obito disobeyed a direct order from her, partially because his wife would rip him to shreds for it. "Who gave you the secret?"

Obito knew that it was Itachi himself that told him so he couldn't tell Tsunade.

She sighed, "Who else knows?"

Obito took a breath, "Like I said Lady Hokage this is matter of village security."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the Uchiha, she knew where Obito's loyalties lied hell he wanted her job one day. And every day she felt that time growing closer. "I suppose I will have to trust your judgement Obito, but I will not tolerate that behavior in the council chambers."

Obito nodded, "I understand Lady Hokage and thank you." He gave a curt bow and when he looked up again Tsunade was pouring sake into two separate cups.

"Join me." She said to the Uchiha who took the seat opposite Tsunade. "You do realize the time is coming when this office will be yours?"

Obito smiled to himself trying to hide the joy he felt hearing that. "I didn't realize you were getting so far along in years' milady."

"Cheeky bastard." Tsunade said as she was about to sip her cup. "I'm serious though, out of all my ninjas there is no one I would rather see succeed me."

"Thank you Tsunade, but I'm sure you have many years ahead of you."

The Slug Princess smiled at that, "You know that you were considered before I was?"

Obito spit out the sake in his mouth. "I was?"

"Mhm." Tsunade said nodding her head, "Even the perv put your name forward, they decided against it though based solely on your age, but now you are even older than your sensei was when he took the hat."

Obito smiled looking at his glass, "Well here's to the future!" He said pushing his glass forward to Tsunade who met him in the middle as their cups clinked together.


	32. Words Resaid

Naruto was standing in the Hokage office bouncing on his heels, "I get a mission, a mission!" He was singing to himself.

"Naruto calm down." Tsunade said to the bouncing boy. "You, Sakura and Obito will all travel to the border between us and Rain and deliver our agreement to aid in the war."

Obito and Sakura nodded while Naruto continued to bounce with excitement. "Obito Sensei did he get into candy or something?" Sakura asked watching the excitable blond.

"Aw Sakura, I haven't been on a mission in forever." Naruto said pouting at his girlfriend.

"Neither have I baka but you don't see me bouncing off of the walls."

Obito took a deep breath, "Alright you two let's all meet at the gate in one hour. Hopefully this will be a simple delivery mission."

Naruto now pouted at Obito, "Aw are we not going to get to see Nagato and Yahiko?" Obito sighed walking out of the room. "You didn't answer my question!" Naruto said following him out.

"Sakura," Tsunade started to her student. "I want you to give me an evaluation on both of their abilities on this mission and any others you three are assigned. If Naruto knows the Hirashin and Obito is somehow able to counter it there's no telling what other abilities the two have learned."

"Yes milady." Sakura said bowing before leaving the room.

XXXX

Naruto barreled through the front door and into his room upsetting Rin. "Don't wake the baby!" She whisper yelled as he ran past her.

Obito came in behind the blond at a slower pace with a content smile on his face. "What's got you in such a good mood?" Rin asked looking at her husband.

"Just going back out there and now Naruto is back too it's almost perfect." He said.

Rin saw the faraway look in his eyes. "We'll get him back." She said hugging him. "Now go and get ready I don't want you to be late for your first mission back with Naruto." She smacked him lightly on his butt putting a skip in his step.

XXXX

Naruto was pacing back and forth back at the gate still chanting his little song about going on a mission when he saw Hinata rounding a corner. She quickly saw him and began her approach. Naruto felt his heart start racing he had hoped that he wouldn't have to face her just yet. "Hey Hinata how's it going?"

"Uzumaki." Was all she gave in terms of greetings, she looked him up and down, "Have you gotten stronger?"

He smiled rubbing the back of his neck, "You bet Hinata. Don't worry Sasuke will be coming back soon"

Hinata narrowed her eyes at the blond. "Good because I've gotten stronger too and he better be back soon." She crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air, "Everyone in this village has been grating on my last nerves."

"Oh hush Hinata we all know you miss him." Sakura said as she walked up to the two talking. Naruto's grin visibly grew seeing Sakura.

Hinata let out a humph, "Whatever you say pinky. Keep it up Naruto, I know I won't stop." With that she walked away with a flip of her hair.

Naruto was watching her leave, "Uh Sakura why are girls so confusing?"

A tick mark appeared on Sakura's head before she was about to shout at him Obito landed in front of them. "Read the room Naruto." Sakura crossed her arms and started walking the other way.

XXXX

The two were a few miles away from Rain when Obito decided to stop for the night, "Alright if we stop here than we won't get rained on all night."

The two Chunin nodded their agreement. "Sounds good Obito Sensei!" Naruto said plopping down on the ground.

"You know you can drop the Sensei, now right?" He said looking at the boy.

Naruto nodded, "I'm gonna keep it there till I can beat you in a fight. How did you beat me before anyway? You said that move would have worked on anyone but you what does that mean?"

Obito chuckled, "You really want to know?" He looked around and saw that Sakura was at the campsite warming herself by the fire. "Come with me." He whispered to Naruto.

The two got far enough from the camp so that they would be out of earshot. "Alright Naruto I figured out how to do this while you were on your trip; hold on." Obito grabbed Naruto's arm and his eyes changed into their mangekyo shape.

Next thing Naruto knew he was in an empty vast space. "Where are we?"

Obito shrugged his shoulders looking around, "I don't know. First time I came here was after my sensei told me to push my eyes."

"Lord Fourth?" Naruto asked confused.

"No I was actually trained by someone else." Obito said with his back turned.

"Who could train you in the Sharingan?"

Obito took a deep sigh, "Naruto what I am about to tell you is a secret to everybody. Do you understand, Rin doesn't even know."

Naruto nodded.

XXXX

 _Obito and Rin were lying in their bed together neither really able to sleep. They weren't used to the house being this quiet. Naruto was off with Jiraiya and Sasuke was with Orochimaru._

 _Rin felt the chakra first as she sat up, she was going to ready a kunai but Obito was already ahead of her with his own drawn and an arm blocking her. "Who are you?" Obito asked his teeth clenched, not only had someone broken into his house where his pregnant wife slept but they had managed to do it without them realizing it until he was already in their room._

 _"_ _Oh I like this one he's feisty." The pale man said to himself._

 _It was at this point that Obito realized the man was missing the limbs on his right side and was melded with the ground. "What are you?" Obito had now activated his Sharingan and was staring at the man._

 _"_ _Oh the scary eyes. My master has those same eyes!" It said back to them clearly not taking Obito seriously. "My master has been wanting to meet you for a very long time Lord Uchiha." It said mockingly._

 _"_ _And who is your master?" Rin said not willing to play the role of scared lady._

 _The pale figure looked at her, "Ah the Lady Uchiha is pregnant with child what great news Lord Madara will be thrilled!"_

 _Obito paled hearing that name, there was no way. "Madara died years ago you psycho!"_

 _The pale man stuck finger out. "Oh yes Lord Madara did die, but you don't get to be as powerful as him and not figure out how to cheat death." It chuckled looking at the two._

 _"_ _What does he want with us then?" Rin said at the man now also holding a kunai._

 _"_ _Sadly nothing with you Lady Uchiha, he simply has an interest with the Lord."_

 _Obito tensed, "And why is that?"_

 _The man laughed, "Oh that's simple, he wants to ensure that the Uchiha will continue to grow strong with you as the Lord."_

 _Obito laughed, "He's a bit late then, there are only three of us left not including my wife."_

 _The man laughed, "That doesn't matter. He can train you to be able to use your power safely."_

 _Rin put her arm on Obito's arm, "You don't have to go Obito. We all know you are strong you don't have to prove it to a dead man."_

 _"_ _Madara Uchiha was the only man to stand up to the First Hokage in life. If I could be trained by a man of his caliber no one will ever get hurt again."_

 _Rin could feel the panic setting in her heart, what he just said was the same thing Sasuke had said about Orochimaru._

 _"_ _I will be safe Rin, trust me. I will come home to you." Obito said still not looking to his wife._

 _Rin hated this, she knew he would stay if she really pushed it but he would regret it the rest of his life. "I know you will."_

 _XXXX_

 _Obito was now standing in front of a giant statue the pale man had led him too. In front of the statue sat an old man. "I have been waiting for you Lord Uchiha."_

 _Obito nodded, "Lord Uchiha."_


	33. Falling Inside the Black

_Madara slowly stood up, "I see the Uchiha are still loyal to the Leaf."_

 _Obito nodded, "What's left of us."_

 _Madara chuckled, "Don't speak in riddles to me boy, I am fully aware of what has happened to our people at the hands of one of our own and the orders of another."_

 _"_ _You don't seem too upset about that." Obito said crossing his arms still watching the old man._

 _"_ _Why mourn the culling of the weak." Madara said standing to his feet. "If Itachi was able to kill them all they do not deserve to call themselves Uchiha." He was now in front of Obito, "But you survived the attack and even battled him did you not?"_

 _Obito nodded at the man who was hunched onto his back and holding a long scythe. "We fought shortly yes but we were able to reach an understanding."_

 _Madara nodded, "It would seem you are a cut above the rest." He turned to walk back to his seat, "It was foolish of them to dismiss you so readily in your youth."_

 _"_ _I left them." Obito said harshly back to the elder._

 _"_ _It does not matter." Madara said as he sat down. "Show me your mangekyo."_

 _Obito grit his teeth before cracking a smile. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours."_

 _Madara did not smile, his face didn't even twitch. "Unfortunately my eyes are on loan at the moment. The ones you see are simply an extra pair I came upon."_

 _"_ _You're no fun." Obito said as he activated his mangekyo._

 _Madara smiled, "Now your training begins young Lord."_

 _XXXX_

Naruto stood in front of Obito in the Kamui dimension still in shock. "I still don't know who Madara is."

Obito got a tick mark looking at the younger Uzumaki. "How you learned the Hirashin I will never understand." He put his hand on Naruto's shoulder and the two warped back to where they were in the forest.

"Naruto, Obito Sensei!" Sakura was screaming looking for them.

"We're right here Sakura!" Naruto yelled back.

"Remember Naruto that was a secret." Obito said making eye contact with the blond.

"You got it Obito Sensei."

Sakura came through the bushes, "Where have you been baka?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry Sakura. Just catching up with Obito Sensei."

The pinkette relaxed, "Don't leave me alone in the woods on a mission without telling me what's going on." She said clearly not as angry as she was before.

"It's fine Sakura we trust you could handle anything that came your way." Obito said smiling at the girl, "I mean you are the disciple of Tsunade."

Naruto's jaw dropped, "You were trained by granny?"

"Don't call her that!" She shouted at the blond, "And yes. I was trained by Lady Tsunade just like Lady Rin was."

Naruto gulped scared that there really were three of them in the world.

Obito saw what was happening and chuckled to himself, if only Jiraiya would man up and tell Tsunade how he felt then all the pieces would fit into the puzzle.

"Alright Team let's all get some sleep so we can be rested for the drop off tomorrow." Obito said clapping his hands together.

The two Chunin nodded and walked back to camp. It did not take Naruto long to realize that he had forgotten his tent. He saw that Obito was already asleep in his one-man tent.

"You can just sleep in mine baka." Sakura said not looking at the boy and setting up her sleeping bag.

"Are you sure Sakura?" Naruto said pressing his fingertips together.

Sakura took a long sigh, "It's fine Naruto, we are teammates and we are dating there is nothing wrong with it."

"If anything happens between you two tonight I will tell Rin!" Obito shouted from his tent.

"I thought you were asleep!" Naruto yelled back the Obito who did not respond.

Naruto grabbed his sleeping bag and walked into Sakura's tent. He rolled it onto the ground next to hers, quickly got into it and turned his back away from her.

Sakura let out a deep breath, "What's wrong?"

"Huh?" Naruto said turning to look at her.

"I was going to go to sleep and leave you your space." The blond said like it was obvious.

Sakura rubbed her face. "It's ok Naruto. Whatever you feel comfortable with."

XXXX

Naruto cracked his eyes open the next morning and saw that Sakura was latched onto him with a death grip. He looked and saw that she had a peaceful look on her face as she was holding on to him. He smiled and wrapped his arms around her, he could get used to this.

Sakura let out a little sleepy moan. "This is nice."

Naruto smiled, "Yeah it is."

Sakura let the silence hang for a minute. "You know Naruto you can stay at my place some nights, right?"

Naruto smiled, "Really?" She nodded her head into his chest. "That would be great." He sat there for a minute, "I'm loving this but we have to get ready or else Obito sensei is going to think something is going on in here."

Sakura chuckled lightly, "Wouldn't want him telling Rin on us."

Naruto paled at the thought.

XXXX

The three Leaf Ninja landed in a clearing that was muddy. "How much farther Obito Sensei?" Naruto asked.

"We should have already made it to the meet up by now." He said looking around his Sharingan active.

"Very observant Obito." A chilling voice said to the group.

Naruto bared his teeth turning to the man. "Orochimaru!"

Obito put his arm out to stop Naruto from charging the Sannin. "Why are you here?"

"Oh if I told you that then the mystery would be gone." He said smiling in pride.

"You're working with Hanzo aren't you?" Sakura said to the Sannin.

"You must be Sakura, and that must be Naruto." He said pointing at each of them in turn. "Sasuke as spoke fondly of you both."

Naruto could feel Kurama's chakra slipping out, "Where is Sasuke you bastard?"

Orochimaru laughed, "He had to stay behind unfortunately. I need to keep my future body in mint condition anyway." He chuckled, "And besides he had to go to a previous engagement anyway."

Obito's eyes widened. "Itachi." He said barely above a whisper but everyone heard him.

"Very good Uchiha. Maybe Dog was wrong when he said you were the idiot of your class."

Obito's eyes widened. "You are never going to call him that again."

"Enough!" Naruto screamed as he charged the Sannin and throwing a punch at his face that he missed.

Naruto regained his footing and dropped down so he was on all fours, the chakra began to bubble out of his body. "I'm going to kill you!" Naruto screams as charges at the pale man.

Orochimaru noticed that tails had begun to form on Naruto.

Obito was nervous now, he had remembered Jiraiya warning him what would happen if Naruto used four tails. He would have to use his Sharingan on him.

Naruto swiped at Orochimaru this time landing a direct hit launching the Sannin the other direction and into a Cliffside. "Well this is quite interesting. I suppose Sasuke was not lying to me after all when he told me about the power you possessed."

"Die!" Naruto charged at the Sannin now all reason out the window as a fourth tail sprout from his back side. The chakra now became so thick that you could only see Naruto's silhouette. His normally blue eyes were replaced by purely white eyes that shone from the chakra that was being used.

Orochimaru felt the next blow before he saw it. He was thrown back into the tree line as Naruto chased him.

Sakura was about to follow but Obito grabbed her shoulder. "But Lord Obito we have to save Naruto."

She saw the fear evident on his face, "You can't help him Sakura I'm going to have to do it. I need you to be ready to heal him or myself at a moment's notice."

Sakura nodded and followed after her former sensei.

XXXX

What they saw when they arrived left them shocked, the entire area was now a clearing and it was obvious it was not one an hour ago. "Naruto can do all this?"

"No Sakura, this is Kyuubi."

Naruto was hurling the snake Sannin around in the air slamming him into the ground and anything else he thought that would hurt him.

Orochimaru for the first time in years felt panic, he was having trouble thinking of a way to get out of this. He was confident he was one of the strongest ninjas alive but facing the full might of a biju was something else entirely.

Naruto threw Orochimaru away like a piece of trash before charging a shot of chakra in his mouth and launching it ahead.

Orochimaru knew this was his one chance to escape, he formed the necessary hand signs and felt the chakra around him surge, he knew this was a onetime shot per body but it just meant he would need Sasuke ready that much sooner.

Obito charged at the four tailed Naruto got in front of him and quickly made the eye contact he needed to stop Kyuubi.

XXXX

Obito looked around and saw that he was now inside of Naruto's mindscape. He let out a breath glad that it had worked, before he heard a loud booming voice behind him. "Uchiha, I detest the Uchiha."

Obito turned around and was frozen in place. It looked just like it had that night all those years ago. "You're Kyuubi."

Kyuubi stared at Obito with a furious eye, "Why have you come here Uchiha?"

Obito steeled himself for what he was going to say next, "I'm here to save Naruto from you."

Kyuubi chuckled at that, "I'm not doing anything this is all his doing." He raised a claw pointing at Naruto's hand on the Kyuubi siphoning the chakra out of him. "He reached for the power himself, I'm just enjoying beating on this snake." He said chuckling to himself. "Now leave Uchiha."

Obito crossed his arms, "Not without Naruto."

Kyuubi looked at him closely, "Why does an Uchiha care?"

"You don't pay attention, do you?"

Kyuubi laughed, "I know who you are, you are the Obito he never shut up about the two years we were training. It was either Obito, Sakura, or that petulant Sasuke."

Obito grit his teeth. "Don't talk about Sasuke as if you know him."

Kyuubi sat up and leered at Obito. "I have met his kind before. They say they seek power to protect people but in reality, all they want is to become stronger."

"People in glass houses."

Kyuubi eyed the Uchiha. "There is only one way for me to get stronger and I will never again be subjected to that."

Obito walked past the bars, "It was interesting speaking to you Kyuubi, but now I will be taking my brother and going."

Kyuubi watched the Uchiha but decided not to stop him. Obito grabbed onto Naruto and released the chakra that Naruto was holding onto.

XXXX

Obito opened his eyes and saw that it was already night time and Sakura was busy healing Naruto's burnt skin. "Is he going to be ok?"

Sakura nodded, "The two of you have been gone for hours. Orochimaru disappeared after that last attack Naruto used. I couldn't find a body."

Obito nodded taking a breath and falling onto his back. When he woke up that morning he had not been expecting to argue with a biju.


	34. Obito The Untouchable

Naruto heard the dripping, when he opened his eyes he realized he was in his own mindscape with Kurama watching him. "Hey Kurama what happened?"

"You idiot you pulled on too much of my chakra at once. You know you can't do that when you're angry. Just be happy that Uchiha was here to save you."

Naruto used his arms to prop himself up. "I see you've met big brother Obito. So, how'd it go?" He said in a goofy tone.

"Don't patronize me you brat." Kurama sat up straight now, "He was interesting to say the least."

Naruto smiled, "Don't worry in time the two of you will be the best of friends."

Kurama let out a deep breath that could almost be mistaken for a quick chuckle. "That vixen of yours healed most of your wounds before you all turned around, I'm not sure where you currently are."

Naruto stood up with a bounce. "Not a problem I will wake up soon and then we can get to work again."

Kurama let out another breath and thought how Naruto was just like Ashura all the way down to the dopey smile.

XXXX

Obito was breathing heavier than usual, he wasn't used to running that fast for that long and all while carrying Naruto. It took them a few hours but they arrived back in the Leaf late that night and brought Naruto to the hospital to get checked over.

Looking at the boy now it's clear that was largely for show, but the scary part was that Naruto still hadn't woken up. Obito was still debating going back in there to make sure Kyuubi wasn't holding Naruto hostage. But he knew that would be unwise after Rin told him Naruto just had chakra exhaustion and would need time to rest.

So now he was just sitting at home with Rin and little Kakashi. Rin was playing peek a boo with him on the floor. He was smiling at how adorable the sight was, compared to all the violence he had seen in his life this was mundane. But if he was honest with himself he liked the mundane. He had always wanted to be Hokage and still does but looking at this he would be content if he just had this the rest of his life.

Looking at it and smiling brings him hurtling back to that night.

XXXX

 _"_ _I'm done Madara I'm leaving." Obito said walking away from the old man._

 _"_ _You still are not adequate." Madara said as his hands rolled across his scythe._

 _"_ _Adequate, adequate! That's all you say rather than actually teaching me." Obito screamed at the old man. "I should've known better than to be taught by a dead man."_

 _"_ _Lord Madara, Lord Obito!" Zetsu screamed out of the wall. "The Lady Uchiha has been kidnapped by foreign ninja."_

 _Obito's eyes went as big as saucers hearing that. "Rin! You have to help me save her!" He yelled at Madara._

 _"_ _I am a dead man; I cannot interfere in your world." He said sitting in his chair beneath the massive statue._

 _"_ _You have to do something!"_

 _Madara nodded, then turned to Tobi. "Aid Lord Uchiha in rescuing his bride and heir."_

 _Tobi saluted and split apart before surrounding Obito's body. "Alright then my friend let's be off to save the damsel!" It screamed excited._

 _XXXX_

 _Obito noticed that it had started raining but when he looked up the sky was clear. "Why did they take Rin?" He asked Tobi._

 _"_ _It would seem they took her in hopes of making her into a jinchuuriki."_

 _Obito felt his heart drop, "We have to stop them."_

 _"_ _I am sorry Lord Obito it is too late; they have already sealed the three tails into her."_

 _If it weren't for the adrenaline he would have stopped running right then, "But is she still alive?"_

 _"_ _Yes her and the baby both seem to be alive."_

 _Obito now started to run faster, the apparent rain only got thicker as he ran though._

 _Once he crossed the tree line what he saw terrified him. He was watching the Three Tails rip the Mist ninja to shreds. "She is still in there." Tobi said. "Use your Sharingan to take her out of it."_

 _Obito charged forward not even once thinking for his own safety. He got in front of the Three Tails and the two made eye contact._

 _XXXX_

 _Obito saw that he was no longer wearing Tobi, and was standing in his old genin garb goggles and all. He looked around and saw the giant cage with bars the size of pillars._

 _"_ _Ah you must be Obito." The massive turtle beast said. "She was talking about you when we first met. She is currently having trouble with all of my chakra." It raised its front leg to reveal Rin covered in red chakra clutching her stomach in the fetal position._

 _"_ _She has been worried about the baby and been wondering where you were."_

 _Obito looked to the massive beast, "Why are you being so kind?"_

 _The turtle laughed, "You Leaf ninja act as if biju are the embodiment of evil itself. You're all just used to Kurama he's always been stuck up."_

 _Obito was now shocked at what was happening, "So you don't want to hurt her?"_

 _"_ _Kami no. She is far better than any other person I have been sealed into. Her first worries were of you and the baby."_

 _Obito smiled, "How do I help her?"_

 _Three Tails let out a bubbly sigh, "I am currently using her body as a medium to protect her from these ninjas, if you think you can handle it I will release her."_

 _Obito nodded, "After what I learned there's nothing stopping me from protecting my family."_

 _XXXX_

 _Obito opened his eyes and saw the Three Tails start to shrink and form itself until Rin was left standing in the clearing._

 _As she fell Obito caught her. "Don't worry Rin I've got you."_

 _Rin grabbed onto him and started to cry, "Who are you?"_

 _Obito was shocked until he realized he was still wearing Tobi on his body. "Sorry." The white mass said unwrapping itself on his head._

 _Tears filled Rin's eyes, "Obito."_

 _"_ _It's ok Rin, you rest now leave the rest to me." He said gently laying her down before standing up._

 _Tobi covered his face once again. "Which one of you hurt the Lord Uchiha's wife?" Obito said in the coldest voice he had ever had._

 _All the Mist Ninjas were looking around at one another. "No one is speaking up, that's fine." His eyes shifted to their mangekyo state and he felt the hate building in his stomach. "Then I will kill all of you."_

 _When he pushed off the ground towards the enemy the ground beneath him cracked with each step. With a vengeful scream Obito slammed his fist into the first ninja in front of him. Using the power he had gained from Tobi wood split out of his fist impaling the man to the ground._

 _A group of the ninja charged forward to stab him but their swords passed harmlessly through Obito and into one another._

 _"_ _Get the girl she still has the three tails!" One of them yelled immediately gaining Obito's attention._

 _"_ _Don't you touch her!" He screamed as he threw a wooden lance he created straight into the man and made it expand upon impact._

 _He continued to charge forward catching another one in the face with his knee shattering the mask. He starts to beat on the man on the ground. "You come into my home," Punch. "You take my wife!" Punch, "You curse her to be a jinchuuriki!" Punch, "And you try and take her away from me!" He was now screaming as tears ran down his face but the other ninjas couldn't see the tears through the mask._

 _He realized that he had been punching mashed skull for most of his rant. He turned around looking at all the ninja before him. "I'm taking her home." Was the last thing any of them heard as the ground itself seemed to attack and roots tore through them from toe to head._

 _Obito walked over to where Rin had slept through it all. Tobi separated on his head again so Obito's face was showing. "I can't go back to Madara to finish my training. I never want to leave her again." He said caressing her cheek._

 _Tobi began to fully separate from Obito. "I will tell him. I will also tell him about your talent for wood style."_

 _Obito looked at the swirl, "I thought that was you."_

 _Tobi laughed at the baffled Uchiha. "Nope, all you. One night when you were sleeping Lord Madara had one of us implant you with just a little bit of the First Hokage's cells to prevent blindness."_

 _Obito nodded, "Thank you Tobi." He picked up Rin and started to walk home carrying her bridal style._

 _XXXX_

He smiled at his wife who looked at him. "What is it Obito?" She said her smile never leaving her face.

Obito continued to smile before he spoke. "Just thinking about how much I love you."


	35. You Are Not Adequate

Naruto woke up in the middle of the night to the sounds of screaming. He launched out of his bed and into the hall with a kunai in hand, when he realized the screams were coming from Rin and Obito's room. He knew Obito was going to be out late so that meant she was alone in the room. Naruto felt Kurama's chakra moving around inside of him again.

He burst through the door and saw that Rin was having a nightmare of some kind, when he went to put his hand on her shoulder he felt his mind pulled away.

XXXX

Naruto looked around realizing he was in his mindscape, but this time it was different. He looked and saw Kurama's large cage but across from it he saw another similar cage.

"I thought I felt something different from the Uchiha vixen." Kurama said looking ahead at the other cage. "Isobu show yourself."

Naruto's eyes widened when he saw the form of the massive three tailed turtle. "The last biju was in Rin the whole time?" Naruto screamed ahead before looking back to Kurama.

"I only became one with Lady Uchiha after your departure Naruto." The polite turtle said back.

"He just called me by my name." Naruto said plainly, "You never call me by my name Kurama!" Naruto yelled back to the massive fox.

Kurama let out a small huff, well small for him. Naruto's clothes swayed in the wind. "You should really be checking on her rather than yelling at me kit." He said to Naruto before again bringing his attention to Isobu. "So what is happening?" He said eyeing the turtle skeptically.

"She was having a nightmare about her capture from Mist and my subsequent sealing." Isobu said moving his arm to show an unconscious Rin sleeping soundly against him.

Naruto breathed easier, "Thank you for helping big sister Rin." Naruto said with a slight bow to the turtle who nodded in response.

"Never bowed to me before." Kurama said sarcastically to the blond.

"You've never earned it!" Naruto barked back to the fox.

Isobu looked at the two yelling. "Are the two of you not one?"

Naruto looked at the turtle confused, "What do you mean are we one?"

Isobu responded by pushing on the cage's bars with his leg and they fell away as he did so. "Lady Rin has accepted me just as I have her."

Naruto's jaw was completely on the ground, before turning to the fox who was avoiding eye contact. "I thought if the gates were opened then that means you get out and I die."

"Not necessarily Naruto." Kurama said getting the boys attention, Kurama had never once called him by his real name. "If you were to try that as you are now than my chakra would overwhelm you whether I wanted it to or not. You still carry too much hate."

"I don't hate anyone!" Naruto yelled out into the air.

Kurama let out a breath, "If that were true when you faced Orochimaru your chakra would've been golden like it was when you fought Shukaku. It helped that his tailed beast chakra pushed yours forward, but you fought with no hate in your heart."

Naruto was now looking away from the fox. "Not all of us can be as kind as Rin."

Kurama nodded, "I would agree, I have watched the world through the eyes of three people since my first sealing, and in all those years she is by far the kindest soul I had ever encountered." Kurama said.

Naruto nodded and turned again to Isobu, "Is she going to be ok?"

The massive turtle nodded, "She will be fine. Just a bad dream that I was able to lull her out of."

Naruto nodded, "Thank you once again Isobu." He crossed his arms looking at the turtle. "You know I went looking for you. But by the time I had made it to the Hidden Mist, Yagura had already been overthrown by that crazy lady in the blue."

Isobu nodded, "I always pitied Yagura, he was a strong man but one filled with fear that led him to hate the world around him. Have you met the other biju?"

Naruto smiled, "Yep. You were the last one!"

Kurama watched the boy, he had met all the jinchuuriki not their biju, with the exception of Gyuki and Son they were always the talkative ones.

Naruto turned to Kurama, "Don't worry Kurama I'm going to get rid of all the hate I feel, then I'm going to go after the hate you feel."

Kurama let out a strong breath, "Good luck, I am the Nine Tailed Fox spirit even the Uchiha with their powerful eyes have not been able to fully tame me!"

Isobu started laughing getting the attention of the others. "I'm sorry Kurama, but seeing you the way you are now is hilarious." He turned to Naruto, "He's really just a big softie that looks scary."

As Naruto started to laugh Kurama stopped the connection they were all feeling and Naruto opened his eyes realizing he was again in Rin and Obito's room. He let out a breath of relief seeing Rin resting soundly.

Seeing that it was still late he went back to his own room to get some sleep; he would talk to her about this in the morning.

XXXX

Sasuke had heard what had happened, Orochimaru had barely escaped with his life after fighting the Kyuubi's jinchuuriki. After hearing that he smiled that his brother was still able to cause some damage. He knew that this was his best chance to take him out before his body was taken.

XXXX

Sasuke stood in front of the door to Orochimaru's room. He had planned this out in his head for months, the patterns of the guards never changed the damn snake was too proud to actually keep guards in front of the door even now. He used the necessary hand signs for the Chidori and as the lightning formed around his hand he shaped the chakra into a blade and pushed it forward through the door hitting thick flesh.

He kicked open the door and made eye contact with the Sannin who had managed to catch the spear but was still stabbed in the hands. "Sasuke what is the meaning of this?"

"This was always the plan Orochimaru. There is nothing more you can teach me and if this was done to you by him then I have no need for you."

Orochimaru forced the spear away from his body. "You foolish boy, you cannot defeat me."

Sasuke grinned, "You have always overestimated yourself Orochimaru. When you faced the Third Hokage in combat you relied on your reanimation jutsu; you could not hope to defeat Itachi so you planned to take me and my body." He laughed at the man, "Now look at you. This is what happens to you when you fight outright you coward!" He screamed as he jumped onto the bed his sword at the ready to stab at Orochimaru, but the Sannin had planned ahead and forced himself out of his current body.

Sasuke turned around not showing any emotion even though he could feel his heart pounding on his chest.

Before him stood a massive white snake made from smaller snakes and the head was unmistakably Orochimaru. "So this is what has happened to you? I had hoped your true form would be more impressive, this form is not adequate."

Orochimaru leered at the Uchiha. "You call me overconfident, but none have seen this form and survived!" He charged Sasuke wrapping himself around the Uchiha. "I have you now Sasuke there is nothing you can do about it; too bad you could not kill your brother before I took you."

The snake body burst apart the blood splattering everywhere. And in its place stood Sasuke in his second stage of the curse mark. "You have doomed yourself Orochimaru, you thought you had me captive from this seal but you never entered Kakashi's chamber. He had figured out a new sealing pattern to take away your control but he had not been able to apply it to himself."

Orochimaru was staring at the cursed boy in front of him. "Dog was always a worthless pawn."

"No!" Sasuke shouted, "Kakashi Hatake was not able to save his own life but he saved mine." He unsheathed his sword. "Now Orochimaru, come!"

Orochimaru turned leering at the boy, "Tonight you become mine Uchiha whelp!" Orochimaru had prepared the seal already to take Sasuke's body so when he lunged at the boy they entered a mind scape that was filled with a dark liquid that Sasuke was sinking into.

Sasuke smirked, "You're already in my genjutsu."

Orochimaru's eyes widened and he realized that he was the one being absorbed, "How Sasuke!" He screamed as he became one with Sasuke.

Coming back to reality Sasuke took a breath, "I cannot die yet, I still have work to do." He walked out the door and passed Kabuto on the way out.

"Sasuke what happened?" He asked looking into the room seeing the snake skin was now lifeless.

Sasuke stopped without turning to Kabuto. "Go home Kabuto, your work here is no longer required." With that he left the base for good.


	36. Red Clouds

Naruto was sleeping in his bed with his mouth hung open and drooling all over himself when his door was knocked on. "Naruto there's an ANBU here for you." He could tell the voice belonged to Rin.

"I'm coming Rin." He said as he lazily left his room and approached the front door. "Can I help you ANBU guy?"

The ANBU silently handed Naruto a piece of paper and promptly left, "Real nice talking to you too." Naruto said as he closed the door. He looked at the paper read it once then his eyes shot open as he read it again.

"What is it Naruto?" Rin asked holding Kakashi.

Naruto looked at Rin showing the emotion he was feeling. "Yahiko has died. Nagato and Konan are requesting Obito and I in rain."

Rin gasped and put a hand to her mouth, "What are they planning?"

Naruto was now gripping the paper in a fist. "They are planning one last push against Hanzo."

Naruto went into his room and readied his gear, as he left the room he stopped in front of Rin. "Take this." He handed her a Hirashin kunai. "Just to keep one safe in the village."

Rin nodded gripping the kunai seeing how much Naruto now looked like his father made her feel emotional. "Stay safe Naruto." She said as she was putting Kakashi down and bringing Naruto into a hug.

"Don't worry Rin. I will be back." With that he left the house.

Rin sat down for a minute before a stoic Obito entered the house. "I've already heard Obito." She said to her husband who was attempting to hide his feelings.

Obito nodded, "Is Naruto ready?"

"He just left the house with his gear. What is the Hokage's plan?"

Obito took a breath, "She is sending myself along with the Leaf Village 11. This will hopefully be the last push."

Rin lowered her head understanding the circumstances. "So they're all going out to war then?"

Obito nodded, "They're ninja Rin. We were even younger than they were when we went to war."

Rin nodded trying to hold in the tears before turning to her husband with fury in her eyes. "You bring him back damn it Obito; you hear me? You bring him back!" With that the tears began to flow as Obito held his crying wife in his arms.

"I promise Rin. I will bring them all back home."

XXXX

Obito's squadron all were in the trees just outside of Rain waiting for their contact. He had Hinata and Neji watching from the flanks with himself in the middle so their dojutsus would work to their strengths. He was watching for their contact with the Akatsuki to show themselves when he saw a man with bright orange hair that was pulled into a ponytail walked out into the clearing.

"Obito I can sense you and your men." The man said to the forest.

The entire squad jumped from the trees in front of the man and Obito noticed the piercings all over his form. "Never met you before." Obito said crossing his arms at the man in front of him.

Without moving the man spoke. "I forget you do not know of my full abilities Obito." The man turned, "Follow me to our outpost."

The group followed but Naruto was uneasy with the man in front of him the shadows from the trees made it difficult to get a good look and feel for him.

XXXX

They arrived at a base when the man stopped before looking to the group. "This is where I leave you now. Konan will brief you on our plan."

Obito was shocked to what he had seen, he would have sworn the man had the Rinnegan but Nagato was the only person who had it; right?

The group entered the door that was built into the hill. He could tell this base was built from powerful jutsu, the thing that confused him most was how all the walls were sloped as if a ball expanded digging it all out. When he touched the walls, he could tell they were still made of dirt it was just compacted.

They entered the room with a table in the middle and saw Konan wearing the same black jacket with the red cloud on it. "Ah Obito it is good to see you." When she spoke her voice sounded almost dead and lifeless. Obito knew that Konan was the most reserved of the Akatsuki members but this woman was something else entirely. He also noticed she had a piercing on her lip similar to what the orange haired man had.

"What do you need from us?" Obito asked trying to mix his authority with kindness.

Konan almost smiled at the Uchiha but kept it under control. "We are planning one final push on the village to take out Hanzo. It's now or never and with you all here I feel our plan may just work."

Obito nodded a cocky smile crossing his face, "Let's kick some ass!" He shouted, when he looked to everyone's reactions he was upset. Sakura, Tenten and Ino were trying to cover their faces, Shikamaru, Neji, Hinata, and Shino were all acting like he said nothing. Kiba and Choji weren't even paying attention; but at least Naruto and Lee were acting excited.

"Yes Obito Sensei, I will show everyone the power of my youth on the battlefield! I shall defeat more enemies than anyone else." Lee screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Actually I hope you are wrong." Konan said casually looking at the boy deflate after her comment. "I have read all of your dossiers and have placed you all at strategic points to aid the attack." She looked at the group to tell if everyone was listening. "Rock Lee, Shikamaru Nara and Neji Hyuuga the three of you will stay behind to protect the civilians' in the base should things go wrong. They all are already aware of their evacuations route but your mission is to protect them."

The three that were mentioned nodded, "Tenten, Hinata and Choji I want you three to cause problems for the village." She said just as unenthused as ever. "Shino and Kiba you two are a team already your job is to get the villages people out of harm's way." Those two nodded, "Obito you and your team will be the diversion. The three of you are too put on as big a show as you can to make the villagers think the three of you are the main advancing force while in reality Nagato and myself will attack Hanzo ourselves."

Obito's eyes bugged out of his head, "You can't be serious! Just the two of you to take down what is essentially a one-man army?"

Konan looked at him the same bored look in her eye, "Hanzo shall know Pain." The entire squad shuffled from the definitive nature of the words. "The attack will begin tomorrow at sundown I expect your squad will be ready in time?"

Obito nodded, "Don't worry about it Konan that prick is going down!"

XXXX

Naruto and Sakura were sharing the same room in the base and Naruto was lost in his thoughts while Sakura was checking and logging all her medical supplies. "Don't think too hard baka you might hurt yourself."

Without looking at her, "Sakura we are going to war how can you be so calm?"

Sakura chuckled to herself for a moment before going to sit in front of Naruto. "I'm strong because you need me to be." She said with a gentle smile as she laid her hands on his.

Naruto smiled and was about to speak when Sakura leaned forward bringing her lips to his. Naruto was shocked for a moment but said nothing as Sakura pushed him so that he was laying on the bed then straddled him with a smile on her face. "We are going to war tomorrow; I can't imagine a better excuse to do something dumb." She said smiling at her dumbfounded boyfriend.

XXXX

Obito was in the war room again looking over the map when Konan entered the room. "I've looked over your plan and I can't figure out one thing." He said to the blue haired kunoichi.

"And what is that Obito?" She asked just as bored sounding as ever.

"How are two people going to be enough to handle Hanzo? Even the legendary Sannin which had three members and a whole battalion of ninja were unable to stop him.

Konan nodded, "I'm aware I was there."

That caught Obito off guard but before he could say anything Konan continued to speak. "Your numbers are wrong anyway it will be seven of us."

Obito held out two fingers, "You and Nagato. That's two Konan."

She held back a smile at the Uchiha as six people walked out of the shadows behind her that Obito had not noticed. His jaw was slack when he saw one of them. "Yahiko? I thought you were dead."

Konan didn't break the perfect porcelain face she had been holding. "Yahiko is dead what you see before you now is Pain."


	37. Learn to Hate

All the teams in the Leaf 11 were in place and were waiting for the signal that Obito was looking for. With what sounded like an explosion Obito gave the hand signal for his team to move in. It didn't take them long for them to find a group of ninja wearing gas masks waiting for them.

Naruto noticed this and felt the pang of fear, "Did they know we were coming?" He asked as his team cut a swath through the enemy.

"No way to know for sure." Sakura said after slamming her fist into the face of a Rain ninja.

"Babe that's hot." Naruto said with a sly smile on his face and Sakura responded by flipping her hair before running ahead again to fight more ninjas.

"I'm more worried with the fact that none of these ninjas seem to be above genin level." Obito said slashing a kunai through a man's stomach.

"Hanzo was always paranoid he probably didn't want any of his ninjas to become stronger than he was and try to overthrow him." Sakura said kicking away an excited ninja.

"Makes sense." Naruto said as an army of shadow clones overran a group of ninja that were trenched in. "I mean if Danzo were the Hokage I doubt he would've let me have any freedom."

Hearing that Obito clenched his teeth, "That's a good point. We need to move farther in I can't believe that Konan and Pain will be enough to handle Hanzo."

"What about Nagato?" Naruto asked running beside his sensei.

"Nagato is Pain, Naruto." He said back his eyes staying in front. "After Yahiko's death Nagato went wild with grief, and turned the corpse of Yahiko and five other dead ninjas into surrogate bodies that he is able to use all at once."

"How is that possible?" Sakura asked now running beside the two others. "I know that Orochimaru has a jutsu that allows him to reanimate the dead but he doesn't control them, at least not the same way."

"You're right Sakura. He can control them by using the Rinnegan. The visual jutsu that was possessed by the Sage of Six paths and has the potential to outmatch all other dojutsu."

Naruto looked down now as he ran, "We have to help them!" Naruto shouted readying a Hirashin kunai in his hand.

"Leave helping them to me Naruto." Obito said looking to the boy, "With my Sharingan I have a chance to kill him." He put the emphasis on the word 'my'.

Sakura noticed this and looked away from the two in shame, she knew that Lady Tsunade had her reasons for wanting to know the extent of Obito's power she was just unsure as to what they were.

Naruto hurled one of the kunai ahead and into the air. "Sorry big brother. You're a father now and next in line to be Hokage." He teleported to the kunai that was in midair and threw it again getting even farther away from the group.

"Damn it." Obito said before looking to Sakura. "Can I trust you Sakura?"

Sakura looked at her sensei wondering if he could. She was under orders to report the status of Obito's abilities but she remembered the words that she had been told many times. Some by, Lady Rin the woman she idolized and wanted to be like, Naruto who always wanted to protect those he cared about and the man she loved. Obito Sensei had told it to them shortly after becoming a team and Sasuke had even said it to her once. "Those who break the rules are scum, but those who would abandon their friends are worse than scum." She said the words aloud to her sensei hoping he would understand.

Obito nodded knowing that meant Sakura had been told to give info about what happened on this mission but she would alter the story to protect him. "Thank you Sakura." He said gently and put his hand to her shoulder and the two were pulled away into Obito's Kamui world.

XXXX

Naruto had been throwing his kunai farther and farther with each throw until he finally made it to where he heard heavy fighting. He looked around the corner to better understand what was happening on the battlefield.

He saw 6 men and Konan facing Hanzo who was riding a giant salamander. "You are either the bravest men I have ever faced or the most foolish." Hanzo said with his arms crossed looking at the blank faced opponents in front of him. He unsheathed his sickle with the massive chain. "Now fight me Akatsuki, so that I might kill you just as I killed your precious Yahiko!"

Naruto watched the fight closely looking for his chance to intervene it seemed that neither side could make any headway. But he noticed that the men all seemed to react to things there was no way they would've been able to see.

He saw one of them bend down doing the seals required for a summoning and slam their hand on the ground. The beast that emerged from the smoke looked like a dog but it has the Rinnegan eyes on it.

"Pitiful summons. You claim I shall feel pain but instead all you do is summon a giant mutt." He threw his sickle in an arc and used the chain that he channeled chakra through making the blade massive enough to take off the dog's head.

With a thud the head fell to the ground and Hanzo caught his weapon. "Foolish children even with the mightiest power of myth you still cannot even dream to stop me!"

One of the men charged forward and metal tubes launched out of his body that were propelled by flam striking the salamander and bringing it to the ground.

The lead man stepped forward to the off balance Hanzo. "You have owned this land for too long with your evil ways Hanzo."

With a grunt Hanzo removed his mask and the purple gas seeped out of his mouth. "I know you. Aren't you the bastard I killed? What was his name?" He snapped his fingers, "Oh yes Yahiko."

The lead man still was not phased, "You speak the name of a man you had killed dishonorably. When was the last time you were even able to kill something yourself?"

Hanzo laughed as a cloud of purple smoke rolled out of his mouth. "I killed that mutt that you summoned, didn't I?"

Without blinking, "No." The dog stood up again as two heads sprouted out of the place the original one sat. "Your reign has ended Hanzo. You and everyone you love will die." He said it as calmly as he would step on an ant.

Naruto was shocked at what he had heard, he knew that the man there was indeed Nagato, but Nagato was always a kind soul the few times they had met. Never one to kill innocents, even with the pain of loss Naruto refused to let that happen.

As Pain was about to lift his hand to perform his almighty pull to kill the man a three-pronged kunai landed in between them.

In a flash of orange Naruto stood between the two men. "I can't let you kill innocents." Naruto said to the lead Pain.

Pain looked at Naruto, "And what would you have me do instead Naruto?"

Naruto looked around hoping something would give him an answer he saw that Konan again was showing no emotion on her face as she stood apart from the battle. "I don't know Nagato, but this isn't the way."

Pain turned his eyes back to Hanzo who seemed to actually be wounded and winded despite his claims to the contrary. "Naruto were you not trained by Master Jiraiya as well?" Pain asked Naruto who nodded in acknowledgement. "Then I take it he also bestowed upon you the question of how best to deal with the pain in this world."

Naruto knew of the exact question that Nagato was talking about, Pain spoke before Naruto though, "When people get hurt they learn to hate; when people hurt others they become hated themselves."

Naruto knew those words well Jiraiya had said them many times as if repeating them as a mantra would somehow tell him the answer; but Nagato didn't finish it. "But knowing that pain allows people to be kind. Pain allows people to grow and how you grow is up to you." He said with hard blue eyes staring into purple ringed eyes.

Pain looked back to Hanzo the man who took everything from him. "If he dies, and all the people he loves die then that means there is no cycle of hatred."

Naruto looked at the man, "Should Yahiko have died for being close to the Rinnegan wielder, should Konan?" Naruto didn't know where this courage had come from he had seen the power Pain possessed in a fight and it was terrifying.

"I am sorry Naruto." Pain said when the Human path dropped behind Hanzo putting it's hands on his body and ripping the soul from him.

Naruto watched the man die and turned to Pain kunai ready in hand. "There was no need for him to die it was clear that you had won!"

Pain walked until he was mere inches in front of Naruto. "The Rain thanks the Leaf for its help in removing a mad man from power but now your services are no longer required. Goodbye Naruto Uzumaki." With that all six paths and Konan left Naruto standing there alone.

XXXX

Obito and Sakura swirled in front of Naruto who was just looking at Hanzo's body. "He killed him in cold blood; out of vengeance and hate! Is this the pain that those who lose someone feel?"

Obito was reluctant to say anything because he was able to empathize with Nagato and his pain. "Losing someone you care about Naruto is one of the most painful things anyone could ever endure."

Naruto's fist was white knuckled as he gripped the kunai gritting his teeth. "He is going to kill everyone that man ever loved Obito and I can't stop him."

Sakura walked over to Naruto putting her hand on his shoulder, "Naruto I'm sorry."

Naruto shoved her hand off his arm. "What do you know of it huh?" He screamed at her the tears on the cusp of falling out of his eyes. "I would do the same thing Sakura; I've wanted to do the same thing!" He looked away in shame from the two. "Not a day goes by when I don't think about ripping Orochimaru limb from limb and then hunting down every sound ninja and doing the same to them for all the pain they've caused when they took Sasuke away from me!"

Naruto was now in hysterics as he looked at the two in front of him. "So Sakura you tell me what gives you any right to try and pity me, huh?"

Without warning Sakura punched him in the face. This wasn't her usual hits that were just an attempt to get him to shut up, nor was it one of her lethal chakra enhanced punches. This punch was all her and it hurt. "Shut up you baka!" She screamed at the blond. "Sasuke was my friend too and I have wanted the same thing!" She was now crying just like he was.

The rain fell in between the two as Obito watched from a distance not talking because he knew that this was not his place but he would be there for the two of them.

"For two years I trained for you and for Sasuke! I don't give a damn about any of this shinobi bull shit anymore Naruto. I just want Sasuke back so you can be happy again because when he left I lost you too!"

Naruto could feel the swelling on his cheek even against the rain the slightly raised skin was warm. He looked at Sakura who was holding a furious look in her eyes but was still crying. "I'm so sorry Sakura." Naruto said looking away from her.

She sniffled but kept her eyes strong, "You better be. Now what are you going to do next?"

Obito looked to Naruto now to hear the answer to Sakura's question. He always knew Naruto was a foolhardy boy but the words that came out of his mouth next left even him stunned.

"We're going to save Nagato." He turned to walk away before stopping a moment, "After that we're going after Sasuke."


	38. There for a Friend

All the Pain bodies were walking near the outskirts of the village they had just finished killing the last child associated with Hanzo and now all of the connections the man once had were gone. Pain now knew there was only one thing left for him, the thing that awaits every man at the end of their life. He was ready to die; he knew that after what he had done he deserved it. Even though he had the power to bring them all back he refused to use that power here.

His thoughts were cut short when he heard a voice. "Well then it seems you won after all Nagato." Pain turned and saw Jiraiya standing on a building watching his former students. "I saw what you did."

"You too wish to judge me sensei?" Pain spoke without emotion, "Your newest student already tried to tell me of my failures; you are too late." Pain turned to continue walking.

"I'm sorry Nagato." Jiraiya said closing his eyes before opening them when two toads jumped onto his shoulders.

Pain looked at his former sensei, "So you intend to use sage mode then? It is no matter I am a god and you cannot kill god." The summoning Pain used their ability to bring a giant bird into the world.

Jiraiya responded by using the summoning as well bringing a massive purple toad to the battle. "Gamaken I need you to handle that thing!"

"I will do my best for I am not graceful." The giant toad said as it jumped into the air to battle the toad.

Jiraiya saw the kunai land by his feet and then the brief flash of orange light and he saw Naruto stand up from it. "When did you get here pervy sage?" Naruto asked the older man.

"I got the letter after I returned to the village." He pulled a small paper out of his jacket, "Take this don't worry about what it is until after this fight."

Naruto nodded and took it to put in his pocket. "All of the pains are Nagato." Naruto said to the man getting him up to speed. "Obito and Sakura will be here soon, I'm just a bit faster than they are."

Jiraiya would've smiled if it weren't for the circumstances, he was about to fight alongside someone with the Hirashin once again. He knew Minato would be proud of his son the way he stands up for people.

"Stop this now Nagato!" Naruto shouted to the Pains. "Yahiko wouldn't have wanted this!"

Sakura and Obito formed next to the two toad summoners, "Sakura and I will handle Konan; you guys think you can take Pain?" Obito asked the two who nodded understanding.

XXXX

Obito and Sakura had led Konan away from the rest of the battle, "Konan you were always the peace keeper, you can't truly believe that this is peace. Killing anyone who threatens peace is not true peace it is merely an illusion."

"Obito you preach to me about the peace when you yourself are a shinobi; an instrument of war. This battlefield holds some of the most powerful weapons on the face of the planet and you still believe your way is a better peace." Konan said to the man maintaining her porcelain face.

"I don't have the answers Konan but I trust the person who will figure it out!" Obito shouted to the paper woman.

"Enough talk." Konan said raising her hand as paper began to flutter off her body. "Now we battle Obito!" She shouted charging all the paper at his body.

Obito seeing what was happening kicked Sakura away just before the paper hit, he was able to activate his mangekyo in time as they all phased through his body. And as he saw her body appear in the mass of paper he reached out his hand and took hold of her. "You are inadequate." He whispered to her before slamming her body onto the ground where she scattered into hundreds of pieces of paper.

Sakura watched in awe at the ability her sensei possessed. Even a kage would have been cut from all those papers if they were there to take the hit. All he had to do was stand there and none of them struck him and he was able to incorporate a counter attack into the fold.

"You are outmatched Konan!" Obito yelled to the blue haired woman, "In retrospect I should've been the one to battle Pain, you just don't seem to be enough of a challenge." He said with a cocky smirk on his face.

"You act as if your power exceeds that of a god." Konan said to the man as her body reformed.

"Gods don't bleed." Was Obito's response as he tightened his head band. "Now show me the power of the Angel of the Rain!"

Konan charged at Obito not bothering with Sakura, she knew the pink haired girl posed no threat to her she was just a medic.

Obito saw the papers coming and this time used the proper hand signs, "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" He shouted as a massive fireball launched out of his mouth at the paper woman.

As the fire passed Konan the paper while it had been seared from the heat was all still intact and steaming. "You turned your weakness to water into your advantage against fire jutsu." Obito said the smirk not leaving his mouth as the angel floated above watching him.

Konan charged again but as she was about to strike the grinning Uchiha she felt the blow hit the side of her face sending her flying parallel to Obito.

After looking up she saw Sakura standing beside Obito pulling her gloves on tighter. "You shouldn't underestimate me just because I am a medical ninja."

Konan floated back up, "You are correct Sakura; my apologies." She said as she charged up a pattern of paper bombs that would surround the two. "This attack does not even need to strike the two of you." She had kept her emotionless face through the entire battle, "Now you shall die." She said just as gently as the bombs all attacked their location leaving a pile of rubble.

After landing on the ground seeing two charred bodies left behind she reformed completely. She didn't know when it happened but she felt a warmth in her chest so she looked down to see a root sticking out of her.

"You have lost Konan." Obito said to the woman who realized that she had been stabbed. "I am sorry it has come this far but you and Pain killed innocents and I could not in good conscience let that go."

As Konan collapsed to the ground a giant red orb filled the place Naruto and Jiraiya had been fighting Pain. "Naruto." Sakura said worried about him.

XXXX

After Obito and Sakura left to face Konan, Naruto's eyes hardened looking at Pain. "I am sorry Nagato this is where it ends." He threw his kunai past the group and reappearing next to the big one with spiky piercings in its ears and slamming a Rasengan into its body. "There now no bringing the broken bodies back." Naruto said with a grin, "Let's go wild!"

Jiraiya jumped from where he was while Pain was distracted and ran with the enhanced speed of his sage mode kicking away the summoning Pain and trying to punch the one that looked like Yahiko.

Pain raised his hand and shouted, "Universal Push!" As Jiraiya was about to strike he felt himself be thrown in the other direction.

"Yeah that one can push and pull things." Naruto said pointing to the Deva path. "There's another one that can absorb any jutsu, you've already seen the summoning, that weird bald one can shift its body around into weapons, and the one with long hair can rip your soul out of your body!"

Jiraiya stood up before yelling at the blond, "You could've told me that before you teleporting bastard!"

Naruto smiled, "Sorry pervy sage." He readied himself again to fight, now who's next?" The one with the large round spikes coming out of its cheeks came in front of Naruto. "Alright no ninjutsu, this is going to be hand to hand."

Jiraiya watched as Gamaken was able to destroy the body of the animal path. "You are losing your fighters quickly Nagato."

"It is of no consequence, after this battle you and your comrades will simply take their place." Deva said raising his hand up, "Universal Pull!" He shouted as Jiraiya flew to him he readied the chakra rod.

Naruto saw it happen in slow motion he had kicked the path he was fighting out of the way when he saw it happen. "No!" Naruto shouted seeing Jiraiya stabbed by Pain.

"It is a shame sensei." Deva said to the man who was bleeding on the ground. The surviving pains jumped from where they were to stab Jiraiya as he was on the ground.

Naruto felt it bubble up inside of him, the hate and anger he felt toward Pain now. He forgot the entire reason for being here in this fight because now it had changed. He was going to kill Nagato.

Pain turned after hearing the scream, "Now Naruto you feel the pain of loss that I feel."

No one was expecting the dark red explosion that enveloped Naruto as he screamed in pain. Looking on after Pain saw Naruto crouched on all fours but instead of the usual blond boy there was now a red beast comprised entirely out of chakra. "So this is the power of the Kyuubi." Pain said without emotion as he looked at the beast of nightmares.

The red form began to grow a skeleton as it reached six tails on its body. Without hesitation, the chakra fox drove its hand into the charka absorbing Pain killing it outright. He then grabbed the one that took souls and ripped it in two. Next it set its sights on the robotic Pain. Before it even had the chance to attack Naruto had already slammed it into the side of a massive cliff leaving it in pieces.

"Good Naruto I can see how you cope with the pain of loss. Just as I do you kill what caused this Pain." Deva said to the boy just as calmly as he ever had. "I am sorry that Jiraiya sensei had to die for you to learn that lesson though."

Naruto launched at Pain with the full intent to kill but Pain clapped his hands together and a small black orb formed in-between them as he threw it into the air. "Planetary Devastation." Pain whispered as the ground around him started to get pulled into the air forming a small moon.

Naruto tried to outrun the gravity but got sucked in anyway. Nagato was shocked at just how much chakra it took to stop Naruto. Jiraiya had been easy in comparison, but this boy was another thing entirely. As the moon finished being formed Pain held it in the air a bit longer when he saw Obito and Sakura return.

"What have you done Nagato?" Obito asked in shock at what he was seeing.

"Jiraiya sensei and Naruto challenged god and lost." Was his simple response.

Without warning the body of the Kyuubi burst through the moon screaming. Obito could tell the transformation wasn't finished the fox had yet to grow its fur. "I will never forgive you for this Nagato!" Obito yelled.

Sakura fell to her knees tears freely falling from her eyes at what had happened to Naruto.

XXXX

"I warned you what would happen if you let hate take over." Kurama said watching Naruto stumble forward to his cage. "Now you've lost, there is nothing further for you to do besides let me take this world and kill that man who mocks the Sage of Six Paths."

Water surrounded Naruto and lifted him into the air until he was at eye level with the seal tag. Naruto reached his hand out to remove it when another hand grabbed his and threw him to the ground. "Not yet fox." The man said eyeing Kurama.

Regaining his senses Naruto looked around, "What where am I?" Naruto asked when the memories flooded back into his mind along with the tears and the emotions.

"Why are you crying?" A gentle voice asked Naruto. The blond looked up and saw the silhouette of a man wearing a coat who extended his hand to him.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked as he took the hand, what he saw in the proper light left him shocked, standing in front of him was the Fourth Hokage.

"Well I had hoped you would've figured that out by now Naruto." He said with a gentle smile.

"How do you know my name?" Naruto asked confused.

"I remember Naruto because I am the one who named you." He smiled at him, "Fathers do tend to name their sons after all."

Naruto was dumbfounded, "Did you just say I'm your son?" He asked the man in front of him who nodded.

Minato was smiling at the man before him, he could see the strength of will and character inside of him and…

Naruto had punched Minato as hard as he could in the stomach. "Why would you make your own son the jinchuuriki of the Nine Tails?" Naruto screamed at the man. "If it weren't for Big Brother Obito and Big Sister Rin I would've been all alone!" Naruto screamed as the tears openly fell from his eyes.

Regaining his balance Minato looked at his son with eyes that showed pain. "How old are you Naruto?"

Naruto rubbed his eyes, "Sixteen."

Minato put his hand on his chin, "Wow sixteen already." He smiled at the boy. "I choose you because I truly believe you have the potential to control the power of the Nine Tailed Fox."

"I am not some weapon to be harnessed!" Kurama spoke to the man who sealed him.

"Let's go somewhere a bit quieter."

As Minato was about to snap his fingers Naruto stopped him, "No whatever you have to say to me you can say in front of Kurama!"

Minato was dumbfounded at hearing that, "What did you just say?"

"I said we stay here with Kurama." Naruto said crossing his arms, "He's my comrade."

Now this was the most ridiculous thing Minato had ever heard the Nine Tails had a comrade and it was his own son. "I understand." He lowered his hand.

"I suppose I should thank you." Naruto said to the man, "If it weren't for Kurama I would already be dead, he had kept me alive this long."

Minato nodded to his son before turning to the beast. "I can never forgive you for taking the lives of me and my wife, but I do thank you for protecting my son." He said with a slight bow.

"Save it Fourth." Kurama said as he laid on the ground his head resting on his paws.

Minato could feel his spirit fading, "I don't have much longer here Naruto so I need to tell you now. Orochimaru did not work alone when he attacked the village that night. He had help from the inside."

Naruto was now patiently listening. "He was aided by Danzo Shimura the leader of ROOT. He had hoped that the Kyuubi attacking would be enough to put him in power and knew that the previous host, your mother would not survive the removal making me unfit to lead."

Naruto clenched his fist in anger and hate at the man that ruined his family. "I'm going to kill him."

Minato put his hand on Naruto's head, "The reason you kill is what decides if you are a great shinobi. Good shinobis can kill without remorse and serve their villages perfectly, that is what Danzo is. But it takes a great one to spare your enemy if you are killing them for the wrong reasons."

Naruto relaxed hearing that, "You're saying that I should let Danzo and Nagato live?"

Minato shook his head, "I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is that you need to kill for the right reasons, to protect those you care about. Killing to satisfy your own selfish desires is not just it is murder." Minato said with steely eyes.

Naruto nodded, "I understand."

Minato began to fade away. "I'm sorry Naruto but I have to be going now."

Naruto reached out to his father but felt his hand fall through him. "Dad don't go!" Naruto yelled at the fading man.

"Naruto I want you to remember I'm proud of you and I believe in you." Minato said before disappearing completely.

Naruto was left standing there looking where his father once stood. "Now what do you plan to do?" Kurama asked the boy.

Naruto stood for a moment in silence before turning to the biju. "I'm going to stop Pain and protect my family."

XXXX

Obito was in shock after seeing the fox disappear so suddenly, he really believed that Naruto was gone for good. He was shocked to see out of the darkness from the hole in the small mood came many shuriken that fell the ground aimed at Pain.

"Almighty Push!" Pain yelled when the kunai were close. "He has not succumbed to the Kyuubi as you thought."

What happened next shocked everyone but Sakura who knew what her boyfriend planned. In a matter of moments Naruto appeared from the kunai he had thrown in a flash of yellow and kicked Pain into the air and threw the kunai into the air. After reappearing just over Pain, he powered up the Rasengan in his hand and used it to push Pain toward another kunai. When he landed Pain immediately felt another Rasengan in his back. "Flying Raijin Level 2!" Naruto screamed as the Rasengan continued to expand until it was bigger than the small island they had been fighting upon.

Obito stared wide eyed at his student and brother who had just killed a man who claimed to be god. "Naruto you're…" He stopped talking as Naruto grabbed one of the chakra receivers and stabbed his leg with it.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed before running up to him and applying a healing jutsu to his leg. "What are you doing?"

Naruto grimaced at the pain but he could feel the chakra's original location. "I've found Nagato."

Naruto stood up and looked to his girlfriend and brother, "Wait here. Get pervy sage ready for transport after this we are done here." Naruto said before throwing his kunai into the air and teleporting away.

"Sensei shouldn't we go after him?" Sakura asked to Obito.

"No" Was his only response as he turned around to ready Jiraiya's body.

"What do you mean no?" Sakura yelled back.

"Naruto can handle the rest from here; he needs to do this alone."

XXXX

Nagato heard the door to his hidden room open and he looked up and saw Naruto standing before him. "Ah I see you have come to kill me; well you are too late, I am already dying." Naruto didn't break his stare, "Your revenge is useless Naruto, I killed sensei, and I am already going to die for it." He started to violently cough.

Naruto just watched the man before him. "I'm sorry too Nagato."

This caught the redhead off guard. "What did you just say?"

Naruto looked down in sadness, "You were right, I don't know what it means to truly lose someone like you have and Hanzo deserved to die."

Nagato leaned back in his giant chair. "Just a few hours ago you were telling me you understood my pain and now you tell me different."

Naruto looked up at the man, "I'm sorry you lost your brother."

Nagato's eyes became as wide as saucers hearing that and seeing the pain Naruto was in from it.

Naruto let the tears fall freely, "You were an orphan just like me until you met Yahiko. He and Konan were your family and one of them died because of Hanzo and the other because of a battle I choose to fight."

Were Nagato a normal man he would have been tearing up as well. "What of it Naruto, it is too late for any of that and I am going to die here alone."

Naruto walked over to the giant chair that Nagato was sitting in and found a small chair that he could sit in. He brought it over so it was right in front of Nagato. "No you aren't. I'm going to sit right here with you until the end."

That was the last thing he could take, the emotional exhaustion of the day had taken it's toll and he began to weep. "Thank you Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto nodded back to the man. "Our cycle of hatred ends here with two friends."

Nagato nodded and smiled as the tears continued to fall, "You think of me as a friend?"

Naruto smiled again at the redhead whose hair had turned as white as snow. "Ever since the day I met you all those years ago."

Nagato could feel the peace now, he was so terrified that now he would die alone, but this boy who had every right in the world to hate him was willing to be a friend to him. Nagato thought to himself how in their last moments every person he had ever killed showed their real colors and now Naruto was here to hear his.

"Nagato, I want you to tell me your life story coming from you." Naruto said with a gentle smile on his face.

Nagato smiled getting to relive everything one last time sounded like the perfect way for his story to end. "I lived with my family just outside the Rain village…"

XXXX

Obito, Sakura and the rest of the Leaf 11 stood outside the village gate waiting for Naruto to return. It had been hours since Naruto went on without Obito and Sakura and it left Sakura feeling worried. Obito had thought to prepare Konan's and Yahiko's bodies for transport to the Leaf where they would have a proper burial.

Sakura gasped when she saw a stoic Naruto approaching the group with a scroll in his hands, when he approached Obito he handed him the scroll. "I have Nagato's body."

"What happened in there Naruto?" Sakura asked bringing the blond into a hug.

"I was there for a friend in their final hours." He said hugging Sakura back.

After a few minutes Naruto remembered the note that Jiraiya had given him, with some reluctance he pulled it out of his pockets and read it, he was shocked with what it said so he handed the not to Obito.

Obito read over the note multiple times because he wanted to be absolutely sure of what he was reading. "Teams eight, ten and Gai you are all to return to the village ahead of us."

They all nodded and took off ahead of the other team. "What is it sensei?" Sakura asked.

"Jiraiya left me one more gift." Naruto said and Sakura looked at him wondering. "He told us where to find Sasuke."


	39. A Brothers Bond

This was it, the moment Sasuke had been waiting for since he was a boy. This was going to be the day he finally killed Itachi and avenged his family; it would also be the day he could finally return home. His feet hurt from the days of walking constantly just to get here.

He pushed open the heavy stone door and there sitting in a massive stone chair sat his brother. "Ah Sasuke I see you received my invitation."

Sasuke grit his teeth hearing Itachi talk so easily to him like that infuriated him. "Itachi this is the day you die."

Itachi slowly stood up from his chair, "No brother it isn't." Without waiting he charged forward along with Sasuke and they met in the middle when their arms collided, Sasuke's face showed nothing but pure fury, while Itachi maintained his calm demeanor. "Show me the hate you now possess brother."

"Don't you call me that!" Sasuke yelled as he threw shuriken out and adding electric chakra to them. "You lost the right to call me that long ago."

Itachi jumped through the shuriken standing directly in front of Sasuke, "No." He punched his younger brother in the stomach then grabbed him by his hair. "I will always be your brother." He threw Sasuke into the wall.

Getting his balance back Sasuke stood, "No my brothers are the ones who took me in as one of their own."

Itachi nodded, "Obito and Naruto. The only man to survive my attacks the night of the massacre and the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. An interesting family you have chosen for yourself Sasuke."

Sasuke readied his blade to attack, "I didn't choose them; they choose me!" He screamed charging ahead as lightning surrounded his blade.

Itachi saw the lightning bounce off the blade slightly extending its reach, to anyone without the Sharingan it would have been an easy thing to miss, but his eyes made it painfully clear. He side stepped the attack completely and stuck Sasuke in the back of the head. "I see you now carry hate in you brother, or is just the passion from love I wonder. For me our family is nothing but a distant memory, I have lived an entire life away from the village as have you. So tell me Sasuke how much of this is just you keeping to your word and how much of it is the hate you feel."

Sasuke clenched his fists, "Shut up and die already Itachi!" He threw many lightning senbon at his brother who used his kunai to deflect them all.

Itachi looked at his brother closely, the stance he was taking wasn't the cold killer that Orochimaru had likely trained, in his form he saw a bit of Obito in it, and something else he couldn't quite place. "You no longer fight for our old family do you Sasuke?" The younger Uchiha's eyes widened in shock for a moment. "You don't fight for them anymore, you fight now so you can go home you vow to our family complete."

Sasuke readied the Chidori in his hand, "Enough Itachi! I am going to shut you up for good!" Sasuke charged at his brother with full force and speed.

Itachi grabbed Sasuke's wrist and held it away until the lightning faded, "You have learned well Sasuke."

Sasuke turned and using his freehand stabbed his sword into Itachi. "I said shut up."

After pulling the blade out of Itachi he saw that the man before him begin to fade so Sasuke turned to where Itachi had initially been standing. "Genjutsu, you coward. You used them on Obito years ago to save yourself and you use them on me now!"

Itachi let out a breath, "I did not do it to save me Sasuke; I did it to save you." He said calmly to his brother still not leaving his chair.

"What do you mean to save me?" Sasuke spat, "You stole everything away from me! And even when I was happy again the fear that you would do it all again led me to learn from Orochimaru and I may have lost them anyway!"

Itachi choose to say nothing because now it was time for his guests to speak. "You didn't lose us Sasuke."

Sasuke's eyes went wide, had that been Naruto? "Now you use him to make me unbalanced; how dare you!" He yelled releasing killer intent as his curse mark spread over his body. "After I am finished with you I am going to return to the leaf and I will never let anyone hurt them ever again!"

"I never hurt your current family Sasuke." Itachi said leaning forward in his chair. "In fact the only one I have ever met is possibly one of the only people I can truly call a friend in this world."

"He's right Sasuke we were always ready to take you back." Sasuke grit his teeth even further. "Stop this Itachi!" Sasuke screamed grabbing the side of his head. He could feel the curse mark pulsing with power urging him forward to kill. "No none of this is right, you were supposed to fight me with the intention to kill me."

Itachi let out another breath, "Have you ever wondered Sasuke, why I let you live?"

Sasuke stop his screaming and let that thought settle for a moment, Itachi had killed everyone why leave him behind? "You wanted me to be the one to kill you?"

Itachi closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again with his mangekyo active. "No Sasuke. I let you live because you did not deserve to die."

Sasuke let the lightning chakra surround his blade again. "So mother and father deserved to die?" He screamed at his older brother.

"Yes." Was Itachi's only response. He tilted his head to the side as Sasuke's sword embedded itself where his head had just been.

"Tell me then Itachi; why did mother and father deserve to die?" Sasuke yelled as the curse mark continued to spread.

"The Uchiha clan had planned to revolt against the Leaf and kill anyone in their path to do so."

Sasuke's curse mark receded on his shoulder. "You're lying."

"No I was in the meetings when it was decided." Itachi said not happy about having to relive the most painful 12 hours of his life. "The original plan was for Shisui to use his mangekyo to change the minds of the Uchiha elders, but a man in the Leaf felt the extermination of the clan altogether was a better plan. So he took Shisui's eye for himself and tried to take the other before mortally wounding him."

"Who was this man?" Sasuke asked still holding his shoulder.

"Danzo Shimura." Came the all too familiar voice of Obito.

Sasuke was shocked to see Obito walk around the corner and stand beside Itachi. "What are you doing here Obito?" Sasuke asked fighting to hold back his emotions at seeing his real older brother again.

"I told you Sasuke, 'on the day you finally confront Itachi, Team 7 would be there to back you up.;'" Obito said smiling at the boy he hadn't seen in two years.

Sasuke was about to talk again when he saw two more people come from the corner to stand beside Obito; Naruto and Sakura stood in front of him again. "Why?"

"Because we wanted to be here for you Sasuke." Sakura said looking to him with hope in her eyes.

Sasuke gripped his chest, "But I hate him!" He screamed at the group. "He still needs to pay for what he's done!"

"And he had Sasuke." Obito said, "To protect the village he had to leave it forever. Leaving behind you as well. He paid the price that few ninjas ever could let alone would."

Naruto watched in silence at the brother he had trained for the past two years to save was fighting against himself. He knew what he felt right now and what he needed to do. "Sasuke me and you on the roof alone."

Sasuke looked up to the blond. "Why Naruto?"

"Because I am going to take on all of your hate." Naruto said puffing out his chest. "This cycle of hatred stops here."

"I'm not going to fight you Naruto." Sasuke said to him.

"I'm not giving you a choice!" He threw a Hirashin kunai at Sasuke's face and teleported right to it grabbing Sasuke's shoulder and teleporting them both away.

Itachi finally sat back his body relaxing, "Will they be ok up there Obito?"

Obito smiled and looked to the ceiling. "If anyone can bring Sasuke out of his funk it would be Naruto."

XXXX

Naruto stood across from Sasuke. "Now I want you to fight me like you had intended to fight Itachi, your battle with him ends with us!"

Sasuke grit his teeth at the blond, "Damn it Naruto why do you care whether or not I hate Itachi?"

Naruto got into his fighting stance, "Because I'm your friend!" Without another word, he charged forward at the Uchiha kunai in hand.

Sasuke saw that Naruto had indeed gone for a killing blow with the kunai so he used his own sword to deflect the blade. "I refuse to fight you Naruto."

"Then I'm going to fight you until you fight back!" Naruto threw his free hand into Sasuke's face knocking him back.

"This fight will solve nothing Naruto!" Sasuke shouted thrusting his sword into the ground.

"You are right Sasuke." Naruto said relaxing his stance. "Fighting now would solve nothing. But what if we all worked to bring justice to the man who did this?"

Sasuke was taken back, "You mean Danzo?"

Naruto nodded, "With Obito and Itachi as witnesses it will surely be enough to sway the council against him.

Sasuke hated this, "He should be killed by an Uchiha."

"And then someone would just hate you or Itachi for killing him." Naruto said unconsciously touching the scroll that contained Nagato's body. "A very important person taught me what it meant to hate. But you Sasuke, and Obito and Rin you all taught me to love and I would prefer to feel that over hate any day."

Sasuke finally relaxed his body. "Fine Naruto let's do things your way."

With a smile Naruto walked back to his brother pulling the sword from the ground and handing it back to him. "Let's go home Sasuke!"

XXXX

Sakura was holding tightly the kunai Naruto had given her before they entered the Uchiha base. None of them could hear much of anything coming from the roof so if they were fighting they weren't using many powerful jutsus.

Just as she was about to speak up to the quiet room a smiling Naruto and a clearly exhausted Sasuke reappeared in a flash of orange. "We're back!" Naruto shouted happily putting his hands behind his head.

Sasuke walked to where Itachi was still sitting and everyone in the room was silent. "Naruto says you and Obito can make sure Danzo is punished for what happened?"

Itachi stood up, "It would appear so. I plan to accompany them back to the Leaf to see justice done. Will you be joining us?"

Sasuke turned to walk away. "I will, but don't think this changes anything between us Itachi; the only reason I am not going to kill you is because of Naruto."


	40. One Hell Of a Story

The newly reformed Team 7 plus Itachi arrived quickly to the Leaf. "Alright since Itachi is a missing ninja we need to report him to the Hokage but that will work." Obito said to the group.

Itachi nodded, "Sounds good." He kept his usual blank facial expression because he was keenly aware of the possibility of this going south and that he was just walking to his death.

Sasuke on the other hand still did not trust Itachi near his family so he watched the older Uchiha with a skeptical eye.

Naruto was grinning from ear to ear to have his entire family back together at last, and if this all went alright Sasuke would even get his blood brother back.

Sakura was very worried, she had been in the village the past two years and she knew what kind of man Danzo was, and she didn't want to believe that a man that patriotic was also willing to cull an entire clan.

XXXX

Tsunade was rubbing her temples in frustration, "Obito I thought you were going to keep this mission simple."

The room was silent even Naruto knew that he needed to be.

Tsunade reached for her bottle of sake but stopped herself knowing she would need her wits about you for what was going to happen. "I need you to explain to me what happened."

Naruto explained about the defeat of Hanzo in brief not divulging any of Nagato's specific abilities. "Unfortunately Team Jiraiya did not survive the ordeal." After he said that Obito put the three scrolls he had on the table and Naruto put on a fourth.

Tsunade was looking at the scrolls her eyes wide, "Team Jiraiya has three members."

"Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan." Obito said calmly.

"Tell me Obito, who is the fourth scroll." She said with fire in her eyes and hate in her voice.

No one in the room wanted to be the one to say it, even the usually excitable Naruto and Obito didn't want to say it, so Naruto took a deep breath. "Granny," He said hoping his cute name would help her a bit, "Pervy sage didn't make it."

The Hokage desk splintered under the weight of the force that was suddenly applied to it. "Who did it?"

Naruto didn't want to tell her, but she deserved to know because she was his closest friend and she was the Hokage. "Nagato under the guise of Pain."

Normally Tsunade would've asked who Pain was but right now she felt consumed by the guilt, she still had a job to do however. "Well done Obito. Your team performed admirably." She had almost forgotten about the black-haired elephant in the room. "And you brought Itachi back to the village alive?" She worded it like a statement but it sounded like a question.

"Itachi Uchiha is here under the protection of the Uchiha clan until a proper trial can be held." Obito said in his clan head voice.

"This is dangerous Obito; if the other clans found out you were harboring a fugitive just because he shares your blood they will turn on you." Tsunade said trying to keep her composure.

"Not his trial Lady Hokage." Obito said calmly. "Itachi was acting under orders the night of the Uchiha massacre."

Tsunade's eyes became as hard as steel. "Who's orders?"

"Danzo Shimura." Itachi said cutting off Obito. "The Uchiha clan had planned a coup to overthrow the village leaders. So the original plan was for Shisui Uchiha to use his mangekyo Sharingan to manipulate the Uchiha council to not go through with it. Danzo felt that the clan itself should just be wiped off the map so he ordered the extermination of the Uchiha. I was the only one he was aware of that had the ability to do something like this so in service to my village I killed my family."

Tsunade sat back in her chair, "Then why let Obito live? I can understand Sasuke because he was your little brother, but you spared Obito and in his initial report he says that you two did fight that night."

"I left Obito because he refused to die and I knew he would take care of Sasuke." Itachi said plainly.

Sasuke's eyes shot open in shock hearing that.

Tsunade let out a sigh, "I release Itachi Uchiha into your care Lord Uchiha but I expect that nothing will go wrong during his stay here."

"You have my word that Itachi will behave." Obito said to the Hokage.

"Good now leave." She said without any effort to sound polite to the room.

After they all left and the door shut behind them Tsunade released everything she had been feeling and cried.

XXXX

Rin was sitting on the floor playing with blocks with little Kakashi when her front door opened. Her head snapped instantly to the door and she saw Obito walking in clearly exhausted but she didn't care. She lunged forward tackling him to the ground past the rest of the group, "I missed you Obito!" She said. What she was not expecting was to hear that chuckle again. She looked up and saw a pair of black eyes looking at her with a gentle smile. "Sasuke!" She jumped off of Obito tackling the younger Uchiha.

"Hey Rin." Sasuke said hugging his sister back, "I missed you."

Naruto scoffed, "I didn't get a hug."

"You punched me dobe!" Sasuke yelled back.

"What did you just say teme?" Naruto screamed as the two came face to face baring their teeth at one another.

The three who knew the two as friends smiled at the duo but Itachi was confused. "Lord Obito why are they still fighting?"

Rin's eyes became as big as dinner plates when she noticed that Itachi was with them.

"They've always fought like that." Obito said smiling at the two boys.

"Knock it off you two!" Sakura yelled pushing their heads together.

Rin was still wide eyed at the man standing next to her husband when Itachi nudged Obito. "Oh yeah almost forgot. Rin this is Itachi." He said with a big smile that would normally have helped feel at ease.

"I don't have enough food for everyone." Rin said still confused.

"Ichiraku!" Naruto screamed, "It's the perfect welcome back meal!"

No one objected to the idea so Obito nodded to the group. "Sounds like a plan to me."

Naruto thrusted his arms into the air, "Ichiraku!" Before he could cheer any more Sakura bonked him on the head again.

"Everyone of us is taking a shower first and Sasuke and Itachi need to get settled in again." She said to the boy.

"Sorry Sakura." Naruto said standing up. He smiled to the girl, "Love you."

Sakura tried to continue to act mad, "I love you too." It did not work however.

Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at that, "So it finally happened while I was away?" He said with his typical smirk.

"Watch it teme!" Naruto said to Sasuke when he felt himself being pulled away.

"You can shower at my place Naruto." Sakura said pulling the blond away from another argument.

"Home less than two hours and already fighting, good times." Obito said walking back in the house.

The rest of them followed them into the house with Rin still confused. "Why is Itachi here Obito?"

"I'll tell you later Rin, just trust me." He said with a big smile as he picked up Kakashi.

Sasuke slowly walked to his old room. He stood in front of the door for a few moments before Itachi spoke. "If it's alright with you I will be staying in the Uchiha compound."

Obito nodded, "Of course. In a few months you will be Lord Uchiha after all."

Itachi smiled to himself, "No I won't." Before walking out of the house.

Sasuke was still standing in front of his door. "What are you waiting for Sasuke?" Rin asked overcoming her confusion happy to see the young Uchiha again.

"I'm afraid this is all just a dream and when I open this door to see my room again I'm just going to wake up back in Orochimaru's base." Sasuke said his eyes never coming off of the purple door that leads to his room.

Rin walked over to him and grabbed his hand. She guided his hand to the door and turned the knob, Sasuke took it from there and pushed it open walking in. He looked around and saw that most everything was left the same way he had it. The scrolls he had not finished reading were still on the floor next to his bed which was half made. Rin closed the door behind him to give him a few moments to himself.

What shocked Sasuke the most was the one item he had not left in the room. Sitting on top of his pillow was his head band perfectly folded, he touched the metal of it but didn't pick it up. He felt the tears threaten to fall but he held them back, he was glad he was home and his family was whole again but he knew there was work to do.

Sasuke walked out the door and heard Obito speak up. "I found some of my old clothes that should fit you so you can change into something clean."

"Thank you Obito." Sasuke said as he entered the bathroom.

Obito fell onto the couch letting out a massive sigh, "So are you going to tell me what's going on?" Rin asked the exhausted man.

"I have one hell of a story for you Rin." Obito said trying to smile but finding it hard to do so.


	41. A Simple Laugh

Naruto was sitting on Sakura's bed with a dumb smile on his face because Sakura had joined him in the shower, she had said it was to conserve water but what happened after did not match that story. He snapped out of his trance when she came out of the bathroom.

"Alright so let's go back to your place to meet up with everyone." Sakura said sliding her top on.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah that sounds good." He was still walking on air because his family was back. He missed Jiraiya and was trying not to think about what had happened but that was easier said than done.

Sakura saw the flicker in Naruto's smile, "Are you ok Naruto?" She asked sitting on the bed next to him. "You can open up to me."

Naruto knew he could but he didn't want to talk about this. "Sakura this was supposed to be the happiest day for Team 7, bringing Sasuke back has been my goal for over two years and now he's back."

"But Lord Jiraiya is dead." Sakura said scooting closer to him on the bed and putting her hand on his.

"It's not fair. He didn't have to die." Naruto's fists clenched in frustration.

Sakura leaned her head on his shoulder, "I'm sorry Naruto." She wished she could say something that would make him feel better but all she could think of was, "He would be so proud of you."

Naruto turned to look at her, "What do you mean?"

Sakura smiled at the blond, "You did the thing that neither you or our sensei could do; you saved someone from the dark. It's because of you that Sasuke came back; I was watching him when he was talking with Itachi it wasn't until you talked that he started to actually listen."

Naruto lowered his head knowing she was right, but it didn't help the pain he was feeling. "Can I tell you a secret Sakura?"

"Anything." She said as her green eyes met his blue.

"When I lost control of Kyuubi when we were fighting Pain I met the Fourth Hokage." Naruto said looking at the floor between his feet while Sakura was listening intently. "He told me that he had hidden a bit of his own chakra in the seal that would be triggered if I ever reached eight tails." Sakura nodded to show she was still listening. "He told me why he picked me."

Sakura gasped when she saw the lone tear fall on Naruto's cheek. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to Naruto." She said wiping away the tear.

"He knew me by name Sakura." Naruto said turning to look at her again, "He knew my name because he gave it to me. The Fourth Hokage was my father."

Sakura went wide eyed, she had guessed that could've been true but it seemed so farfetched she had never really thought it over.

"He told me that he believed I was the only person who could use Kyuubi to protect people." He said putting his hand over his stomach.

Sakura put her own hand on his, "He was right you know." She said with a smile when he turned to her to see what she meant. "No one else could've defeated Gaara like you did. No one else could've convinced Lady Tsunade to come back. No one else could have convinced the Kyuubi himself to trust them with his name. You are Naruto Uzumaki and you can do the impossible."

Naruto smiled and held her hand, "I don't know what I would do without you Sakura?"

She stood up with her nose in the air and her eyes closed. "Well it's just a good thing we don't have to think about that. Now let's go or Obito Sensei is going to give us crap for being late."

XXXX

Sasuke was laying on the couch in his new black Uchiha shirt and blue pants, his eyes were shut but he was not sleeping he was just enjoying the peace he felt here. He didn't have to be constantly watching over his shoulder for someone to kill him when he wasn't paying attention. He almost drifted off to sleep but he sat up instead and saw a small baby on the floor staring at him.

"Obito." Sasuke yelled confused when Obito popped his head around the corner. "Who's that?" Sasuke asked.

Obito smiled before sitting on the floor next to the youngest Uchiha. "This is Kakashi Uchiha." He said with a huge smile.

Sasuke just looked at the baby and subconsciously rubbed the curse mark on his shoulder. "You named your son after your old teammate, that's nice." Sasuke said looking at the child with a smile. "You know he saved me?"

Obito looked up at Sasuke, "What?" He asked simply had Kakashi actually been able to do something to help even when he was under Orochimaru's thumb?

"He designed the counter seal on the curse mark that prevents Orochimaru from controlling my mind." Sasuke said before a frown crossed his face, "He didn't have time to apply it to himself before the Sound attacked."

Obito smiled, "Kakashi was always the smartest one in our class and group; it doesn't surprise me he figured out a way to beat the snake. I'm glad you told me Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded, "So I have to know," He started, "How did Naruto beat Orochimaru?"

Obito smiled, "So that's how you got out." Sasuke nodded, "We met up with Orochimaru when we were going to deliver a message to Rain about the Leaf aiding them. He stopped us on the way there and the thought of hurting Orochimaru drove Naruto to use the Kyuubi's power."

Sasuke nodded, "That's how he fought me back then too. Guy hits like an elephant when he's like that."

Obito laughed, "Yeah he does. Plus, now he has the jutsu of my old sensei."

"You mean his father?" Sasuke asked quickly.

Obito went wide eyed and stared at the younger Uchiha. "Who told you?"

Sasuke smiled, "You just did." He leaned forward on the couch. "I had my suspicions and so did Orochimaru, but I was suspicious even before I left, so is Sakura." He says gesturing to the door.

"You can't tell him." Obito said sternly to Sasuke.

Sasuke let out a breath. "I know doesn't mean I like it. Why was it kept a secret anyway?"

Obito let out a breath, "The Stone hated The Fourth and actually celebrated the day after the Nine Tails attack. Jiraiya, The Third and myself were terrified that Naruto would be targeted so we decided he was a random orphan that was picked to be the jinchuuriki."

"When will he be told?" Sasuke said narrowing his eyes.

"Probably when he is strong enough. He's pretty damn close as it is." Obito said chuckling to himself when Rin walked in the room.

"Hey Obito could you help me cut this tag off my new jacket?" She asked holding a pair of scissors when the door opened and Naruto and Sakura came in.

Naruto's eyes became as wide as saucers when he saw the scissors in Rin's hands. "How did you know?" He screamed putting his hands over his crotch. "It was her idea!" He shouted pointing a finger at Sakura who rolled her eyes at the boy.

Rin was about to yell and get angry at Naruto and Sakura for being immature and that it was too soon for them, but she stopped when she heard laughing that none in that room had heard in years.

Sasuke was openly laughing, not a simple chuckle but actually laughing out loud. "That could not have been timed better!"

His laughter seemed to break them all and one by one they all laughed except Naruto who was holding himself in protection still. "It's not funny!"


	42. A Plan for Payback

Everyone was sitting at the Ichiraku bar except for Itachi who decided it would be best if he remained hidden from the villagers until everything was worked out. Naruto was eating the noodles in his typical fashion that left most who watched astonished. Sakura was sitting next to him trying not to look at him. Sasuke was on the other side of Naruto taking his time and enjoying the food and being with these people again. Obito was feeding Kakashi some small pees that Teuchi had given them on the house. Rin was just smiling at the group finally together again she was almost happy enough to forget about Naruto and Sakura's newest hobby; almost. She would wait until she was alone with the two of them though before she spoke to them about it, she just hoped neither of them thought to bring up her living with Obito when she was only 15.

"Man this is a serious sight for sore eyes." Teuchi said to the group, "And you guys even added a little one to the group." He turned to Naruto and Sakura, "When's the next one coming?"

Naruto choked on his noodles and Sakura patted him on the back. "Nothing like that sir." Sakura said while helping Naruto catch his breath.

"Are you trying to kill me old man?" Naruto barked at the shop owner.

Sasuke felt the tap on his shoulder he only turned his head slightly to see who it was as they left. "I'll be right back." He said to the group. Naruto was still shouting with the shop owner while Sakura tried to get him to calm down. Rin heard him and nodded with a smile knowing who it was that tapped on his shoulder.

XXXX

Sasuke followed the person into an alley, but when he walked halfway through he realized he had lost the person until he felt himself gently pushed against the wall. "When did you get back Uchiha?" He looked into the lavender eyes with his own black eyes.

He always enjoyed this game so he decided to play along. "Earlier today, what's it to you Hyuuga?" Sasuke said trying to sound bored.

Hinata narrowed her eyes at the taller Uchiha. "Are you done with the Sound?" She asked abandoning her cool and laid back demeanor for one that felt like the voice of a true kunoichi.

Sasuke nodded his head, "I got what I needed from them and left." He didn't want to tell just anyone anything else, he had known Hinata back then and even trusted her to an extent but two years could change a person.

Hinata relaxed her eyes and took her finger off his chest. But Sasuke didn't have time to react as she hit him with a gentle fist strike in his stomach. "That was for making me chase your sorry ass." She said harshly before pushing him back up and against the wall where she planted a short kiss on his lips. "And that's for coming back."

Sasuke ignored the pain in his stomach knowing he deserved much more and smiled at the Hyuuga who switched back to her uninterested persona. "So tell me Uchiha; during your escape, did you kill that Kabuto?"

Sasuke shook his head, "There would've been no reason to so I left him."

Hinata grinned a maniacal grin, "Good I've wanted to get a rematch with that bastard."

"I'm sorry Hinata." Sasuke said gently to the woman.

"Don't sweat it." She said sarcastically to him. "You did something really dumb but now you're back; but you owe me." She said putting her index finger on his chest again.

"Name it." Sasuke said hoping he could regain the bond he had with her.

"Train me to defeat Kabuto." She said with fire in her eyes, "You and him were trained by the same bastard so I want to learn how to defeat him."

"Why?" Sasuke asked.

"That dick humiliated me so I want him to pay. No one makes a fool of Hinata Hyuuga!" She said pressing her finger into his chest.

"Won't the Hyuuga elders have a problem with you being trained by an Uchiha?" Sasuke asked trying to start their game again to calm her down.

"Those old fools won't even know. The only time they leave the compound is when one of them dies." She said dismissively. "So what's it going to be Uchiha?"

Sasuke pretended to think it over, "Throw in a few more of those kisses and you've got yourself a deal." He said smugly.

Hinata smirked she had missed this back and forth and was really glad he was back. "I expect to start training soon Uchiha." She said walking out of the alley, "I'll leave you to your family for now."

Sasuke smiled glad that one of his closest friends was willing to take him back, he didn't dislike the idea of this being more than friends either. He didn't really know the way the clan politics worked he knew Obito wouldn't have any issues with it; it was her family he was worried about.

XXXX

Naruto was patting his belly as the group walked back to the house. "Ah the best ramen in the world; I should know I looked for better when I was out there!" He shouted to no one in particular.

Sasuke smiled this was how it should be. If he was honest he still didn't trust Itachi but since Obito vouched for him he would let it slide for now. At the moment all he wanted was his family to be safe and for Danzo to be tried and sent away or even better yet killed. If he could Sasuke would love to be the one to do it.

Naruto had his hands behind his head now, he had decided that when he got home he would tell Obito and Rin about what his dad. He still didn't full believe it, the man who saved the village from Kurama was actually his father. Then it hit him why hadn't Kurama told him sooner. Naruto closed his eyes trying to enter the mindscape where Kurama lived.

XXXX

"Hey fur ball!" Naruto shouted into the cage. He saw the fox shift a bit, "Wake up!"

Kurama knew his host wouldn't let him get any sleep until after they had their conversation. "What do you want brat?" He grumbled opening his eyes but leaving his head resting on his paws.

"Why didn't you tell me who my dad was?" Naruto asked crossing his arms and staring down the fox.

"I saw no need. You were well taken care of and loved, there was no need to tell you of your parentage." Kurama said closing his eyes again.

"Would you ever have told me?"

"Would it have changed anything?" Kurama asked sitting up and looking at the blond now. "You still would've been raised by the Uchiha and his mate and you would've hated your village for it. So no Naruto I wouldn't have told you, and I don't think you should take out any frustrations on your care takers for it."

Naruto was shocked he was actually being scolded by the Kyuubi in a way that came across as caring; Naruto knew he could take advantage of that. "Aw Kurama I knew you liked me!" He shouted jumping into the cage and landing on one of the foxes paws and hugging the leg. "You're so thoughtful, just wait until I tell all the other jinchuuriki who great my Tailed Beast is!"

Kurama knew the blond was just trying to get a rise out of him. "Get off of me you emotional lout!"

Naruto smiled at the large beast that would send most people running for the hills but he just saw it as his buddy Kurama. "I'll talk to you later if I'm in here too long everyone will look at me funny."

XXXX

Naruto looked up and everyone was staring at him. "Kurama?" Rin asked before quickly covering her mouth.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah talked to him for a minute. I guess Sanbi told you?"

Rin nodded, "Yes, I'm sorry he also told me he was probably sensitive of his name being said."

Naruto waved her off, "Don't sweat it Rin, he'll get over it eventually."

Sasuke was looking back and forth at the group. He knew that the Sanbi was the three tails turtle from Mist. "Rin are you a jinchuuriki too?"

Rin nodded her head with a smile. "Yup jinchuuriki of the three-tailed turtle Isobu!" She said excitedly. "At first he was tough but now he's a good friend I can talk to about things."

Sasuke nodded, "So then both of you are on good terms with your tailed beasts, why aren't you training to use their power?"

Naruto sighed, "I would if I could. Kurama says I still have too much hate to use it properly. Even when I fought Gaara that wasn't the full power."

Sasuke was shocked to hear that, he remembered that fight like it was yesterday and it was still the craziest thing he had ever seen. He knew that if Naruto had fought him like that in the Valley of the End he would have lost easily.

"So I take it that when you use his power as you are now you get that red chakra?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto nodded, "Yeah my hatred seeps out the negative chakra from Kurama and nothing else. He thinks I was able to fight Gaara in that form was because I wasn't fighting to hurt him at all it was only to save you and Sakura."

"Then how come when you fought Sasuke it was red then too?" Sakura asked the group as a whole, trying to figure out the solution to this problem.

"Because I was upset with him for leaving and it scared me." Naruto said. He noticed Sasuke lower his head in shame at that, so he put his arm around the Uchiha. "But everything worked out so no harm done!" He shouted.

Sasuke shoved the blond off, "But that doesn't solve the problem of getting you to fight with the Kyuubi's chakra properly."

Naruto let out a big breath, "Do we need to figure this out now? With all the jinchuuriki's Kurama has had none of them have been able to use his power the way I have anyway so I'm already ahead of the curve."

Obito started walking home again, "We don't have to figure that our tonight why don't we all go home and we can talk there." He said with a smile.

XXXX

Sakura snuck away from the group for a moment because she still had to make good on her part of the mission. She walked into Tsunade's office and shut the door behind her. "Hello milady." She said with a bow before approaching the desk.

"Good I was hoping you would stop by tonight Sakura." The Hokage said resting her chin on her knuckles. "So what can you tell me of Obito Uchiha's abilities." Tsunade asked the girl. "I imagine is ability with the Sharingan makes the other Uchiha seem less than adequate."

Sakura handed a small piece of paper to the Hokage. "I found no sign of what was causing him to display these abilities. He moved too quickly for me to follow him but I can't imagine this is linked with the Sharingan even the powers of the late Madara Uchiha didn't display these abilities. I'm not sure if that is the thing that makes them appear inadequate."

Tsunade nodded and then dismissed the younger woman with a wave. "Thank you for your assistance Sakura."


	43. Nothing Better

Sasuke opened the door to his room and smiled when he smelled breakfast, he remembered all the times when he was growing up when Rin would cook breakfast for everyone. He sat down at the table and saw the only other person there was little Kakashi in a high chair playing with a stuffed dog.

"Good morning Sasuke." Rin said over her shoulder, "How was your first night back?" She added turning around and smiling at the young Uchiha.

"Better than I have in a long time, thank you." He said giving a simple smile back.

"Good, because from what Obito tells me you have a busy day today." She said turning back to the stove.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke asked now curious as to what was going on.

"Something about reinitiating into the shinobi forces." She said not turning back. "You were never officially declared a missing ninja just on a long term mission with no pay."

"Who set that up?" Sasuke asked, he was still expecting the Anbu to show up and bring him to a cell to await trial.

"A very loud blond." Rin said laughing. "He talked for hours to Tsunade about not listing you as missing. By the end of it she just wanted him to stop talking."

Sasuke didn't laugh or respond because that was just one more thing he owed to Naruto. He was snapped out of his thoughts by a plate of food being put in front of him. "Go ahead eat up." She said walking back to make another plate for herself.

Sasuke ate in silence while Rin fed herself and Kakashi, he was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the chair next to him slide across the wood floor and Naruto sit down next to him looking beyond tired.

"Good morning Naruto." Rin said with a big smile.

Naruto groaned and laying his head on the table.

"So when are were you going to tell me about you and Sakura?"

Sasuke choked on his food, then stood up and taking his food. "I'm just going to eat this outside." He did not want to be a part of this conversation or any involving Naruto's sex life.

Naruto looked at Rin still not fully awake, "What about us?" He asked oblivious to what she had meant.

"Well Naruto," She wiped a piece of food off of Kakashi's face, "I mean that when were you going to tell me the two of you were getting serious?"

Naruto sat up now fully focused realizing what she had meant. "We didn't want to tell anyone about that." Rin nodded along, "When we were in Rain we didn't know what was going to happen the next day so we figured that was as good a time as any."

Rin nodded along understanding the logic, she wasn't going to mention how her and Obito had their first times shortly after adopting Naruto and the fact that they were even younger than he was.

Naruto fidgeted under the awkward silence hoping something would break it. "So are you going to yell now?"

Rin let out a breath, "No I'm not going to yell at you. For all intents and purposes the two of you were adults the moment you put on your headbands I just wanted to let you be the little boy I raised a bit longer."

Naruto smiled at Rin, "Don't worry you will always be my big sister Rin."

Rin smiled back and saw Obito walking in the room looking just as dead on his feet as Naruto was. "You guys had your talk yet?" He asked not wanting to be in the middle of it either.

Rin nodded, "Yeah we did, everything is all good now."

Obito sat down in his usual chair at the end of the table. "Good because we all have a busy day ahead of us, first we need to meet with Tsunade about getting Sasuke reinstated. After that we need to bring Itachi's case up before the council and hope that they find in his favor and against Danzo."

Naruto sat back in his chair, "I hate all this political nonsense."

Obito chuckled, "Said the boy who wants to become the Hokage."

Naruto let out a breath, "I'm gonna go and get dressed."

When Naruto left the room Sasuke came back in with a cleaned plate. "Glad you got that over with." He said putting his used plate into the sink.

Obito perked up seeing Sasuke awake and about, "So Sasuke if I have time after all this stuff I need to do today why don't the two of us spar?"

Sasuke smiled but shook his head no, "I'd love to but I already promised Hinata I would help her train."

Obito and Rin leaned toward the Uchiha who quickly realized the mistake he had made. "So you and Hinata." Obito said grinning like a mad man, "Will it be just the two of you training?"

Sasuke let out a sigh, "Yes." He put his hands out, "And before you ask I don't know if this is anything but I do feel that I owe her."

Rin joined in, "Do you want it to be something?"

Sasuke rubbed his forehead, "If I'm being totally honest than yes I do. But I also know that it is highly unlikely because of the hatred between our two clans."

Obito sat back in his chair with a smile of victory on his face. "Well we won't have to worry about Hiashi causing any problems." Sasuke tilted his head wondering what he had meant. "I was tired of constantly being on the opposite side of Hiashi so we decided that we would not let our family names create a rivalry merely on that. It may take some time but we are working to stop the constant bickering between us." His grin grew back, "He also wanted to do it because his daughter talked quite often about a certain black haired Uchiha."

Sasuke smiled at that, things were really working to his benefit since he got back. The only thing he was still unsure of was the Itachi of it all. He didn't really trust his brother anymore but if it wasn't his fault to kill the clan than he wasn't going to hate him anymore.

Naruto walked back into the room fully dressed in his orange and black track suit with his headband tied tightly against his head. "I'm going to stop by Sakura's before meeting you guys at the Hokage tower." He said on his way out.

After the door shut behind him Rin smiled and got very excited, "Oh Obito they're finding people to be with!" She shouted at the man who was still trying to wake up. "Soon their will be babies, can't you just imagine the little babies with blond hair and Sakura's green eyes! Or the little babies with short black hair and pale white eyes!" She squealed in excitement.

Sasuke was wide eyed and nervous and Obito saw this and thought playing along would be fun. "Maybe they'd have her long blue hair and his black eyes." To which Rin squealed excitedly again.

"I'm gonna go get dressed." He said nervously as he made his way back to his room.

After catching her breath Rin smiled at Obito. "It's fun to tease them."

"Oh nothing better." Obito said back.


	44. Council Battle 2

Sasuke was standing in the Hokage's office as she stared him down. "Off the record Sasuke." She started, "I'm still tempted to have you tried for what you did. Many of your classmates were in a critical condition when they were brought back to the village after trying to bring you back. But after much consideration and convincing, not to mention the fact that you were able to singlehandedly kill Orochimaru; I Tsunade Senju Fifth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves reinstate you as a ninja." She put her hands on the desk, "On a trial run of course to discover if you will return as a Genin or a Chunin you will be only going on missions where you will be watched by either Obito Uchiha or Naruto Uzumaki, is that understood?"

Sasuke nodded, "Thank you Lady Hokage, I will strive to prove their faith in me was justified."

"It better be." She said filing the paperwork for Sasuke. "Will you be needing a new head band?" She asked the Uchiha.

"No milady, my previous one was saved by my family." Sasuke said, without bowing he turned around and stood beside Obito.

"Alright is everyone here?" She asked looking around the room, she saw the entirety of Team 7 plus Rin, the only person they still needed was Itachi. "Where is Itachi?"

Obito pointed behind himself, "He didn't think it would be right to come in here without knowing which way this was going to go, he wants to either enter as a citizen of the Leaf or a criminal."

Tsunade nodded, "Alright this isn't going to be easy. We need to convince the entire council to turn on one of its oldest members for a terrible crime that had been blamed on another man for most of his life."

Obito nodded, "I understand and believe that majority of the council will see it in our favor with the exception of those loyal to Danzo."

"Do we know who those are?" Naruto asked.

"Largely the civilian families." Sakura said, "The Harunos being among them." She added.

"Most of the civilian council has been allied with Danzo ever since the Kyuubi attack 16 years ago." Obito said, "They felt that the jinchuuriki should be trained properly and by Danzo rather than a ninja."

Naruto refused to lower his head in understanding, not only was Sakura's family going to oppose them and Itachi, but they would be backing Danzo.

Sakura looked over to Naruto hoping he didn't seem upset but she relaxed when she saw his usual smile, it wasn't his big grin or his cocky smirk just the normal Naruto.

Tsunade nodded at the group. "Well we might as well get this over with."

XXXX

"You can't be serious." Danzo said to his accusers. "You believe the words of a traitor and mad man who killed his entire family?"

"I spoke to Itachi the night of the attack he is telling the truth." Obito said to the outraged elder.

"Do you have any additional evidence Lord Uchiha?" Hiashi asked Obito. "These are not simple accusations it is something that will be heard all across the continent. If this is true not only will the other villages see us as untrustworthy but also as a brutal village that is willing to kill an entire clan for the larger peace."

"Honestly tell me Hiashi." Shikaku spoke. "Would you believe it if any of the other villages had done the same. The Mist just ended a civil war because the former Mizukage was killing anyone with a blood line trait. The Sand executed many ninjas after the failed attack because they had been misleading the leaders and telling them attacking us was beneficial. It is not such a ridiculous statement."

Hiashi nodded understanding now that any village would do the same. "That may relieve us of the repercussions of this being true but we still need proper evidence."

"If a Yamanaka were willing to enter my mind they would see what was said." Itachi said calmly to the room. He was surrounded by the chairs of the council members.

"It is very difficult to falsify memories." Inoichi said to the room. "If I can be seen as trustworthy and impartial I would gladly do it myself." He said genuinely to the room.

Danzo stamped his cane on the ground, "I will not allow it. The Yamanaka have been allied to the Uchiha since Lord Uchiha took the seat."

While everyone in the room knew that the Uchiha and Yamanaka's have been working together in recent years calling it an alliance was a bit of a stretch. "Danzo Itachi may be the one in the middle of the circle but as far as I am concerned you are the one who should be on trial here." Tsunade said to the older man.

"I will not stand for this, I have done everything within my power to protect this village, even if I did order the massacre it stopped the coup they had planned!" He shouted to the room.

Shikaku turned to the elder. "A coup was never mentioned Danzo." In his mind that statement was more than enough to incriminate the man.

"Even if this is all true what's the harm done?" Kizashi Haruno said to the room. "The Uchiha clan had seen themselves as superior to the rest of the village for years and we have done nothing but prosper since they were exterminated."

"Only pests are exterminated." Shibi Aburame said. "Humans are massacred while live stock is culled. Are you implying the Uchiha are pests?"

Kizashi was quickly losing his temper, "That is exactly what I am saying. Even now they expect special treatment even though there are only four by blood alive. If anything they should be taken off of the council and their spot taken by a more important family."

Naruto and Sasuke both were clenching their fists and Sakura noticed. The last straw though was what Kizashi said next, "They even managed to turn one of my own into their own whore."

Sasuke caught the quick flash of red in Naruto's eyes but saw Sakura put her arm in front of him to prevent him from speaking. Tsunade on the other hand had no one to stop her. "I'm sorry Mr. Haruno I don't think I heard you right. For the clarification of the council could you reiterate what you just said. The one of your own you are referring to would that be Sakura Haruno?" She knew she was taking a gamble here largely she was terrified that Naruto would react poorly.

"My whore of a daughter is under the control of the Kyuubi and the Uchiha." He said crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

"Well thank you very much for your opinion." Tsunade said in a voice that should've sounded polite and professional but everyone in the room knew it meant murder.

Naruto could feel the red chakra building in his gut again, he felt a hand rest on his shoulder when he turned he saw Sasuke had his Sharingan active.

XXXX

Naruto looked around the mindscape wondering what pulled him in here he looked to where Kurama normally was and saw Sasuke looking at the cage. "So this is the cage protecting us all." He said running his hand on one of the massive bars.

Kurama started to stir when he felt a familiar presence that he hated, he sat up and looked out the cage and saw Naruto standing a bit away from the cage but right next to one of the pillars was the boy he recognized as Sasuke. "Your chakra feels almost as depraved as Madara's he said.

Sasuke looked up to the beast. "All I am here to do is to try and calm Naruto down before he does something he would regret. Stop feeding him this chakra." The last statement had clearly been a command.

Kurama leaned forward so he was mere inches away from Sasuke. "The last Uchiha to give me orders was Madara and he was also the last person to control me. No one else will talk to me that way again." He said with his big red eyes showing hate.

"For Naruto I would face anything." Sasuke said to the beast ready for whatever happened next.

Kurama relaxed after hearing that, "Good because otherwise you would be just like him. He is a good person brat." The massive fox said to Naruto.

Sasuke turned to his brother confused, "I didn't know you would be coming in here too."

Naruto waved it off, "Don't sweat it. But we need to get back."

Sasuke walked over to Naruto, "Agreed but you have to keep yourself in check, if you lose it now Danzo wins."

XXXX

Naruto came back out of it and realized that barely a moment had passed. "Does anyone else have any opinions on my personal apprentice or her relationship with the Uchiha family or the Nine Tails Jinchuuriki?" Tsunade said to the rest of the room daring them to challenge her.

"We are getting off track." Choza announced to the room. "I don't like the idea of things like the murder of an entire clan being hidden from us for nearly ten years!" His loud booming voice announced.

"Agreed." Shikaku said to the room. "We have all been shown that the village hides things from everyone, which shouldn't surprise us as we are a village of ninjas and our business is deception and murder. The real thing to wonder, if what Itachi said was true and Danzo ordered the killing of an entire clan do we try Danzo alone for being the superior officer who gave the order, or the both of them for conspiring to kill a clan."

Obito spoke again, "Don't we have an entirely different punishment if a ninja refuses an order? If Itachi had refused the order than he would've been tried as a traitor anyway and the Uchiha would still have revolted. I don't deny the fact that the coup was a thing that was planned and it is a mark of shame my family will have for years to come, but a man just following orders is not in the wrong. When a ninja kills is the kunai to blame for the stab wound, if ninjas are really just weapons for the village then Itachi was the kunai and Danzo the ninja."

"I will not stand for this any longer I made the hard choice that no one else could and I stand by it!" Danzo shouted to the room.

"So you admit what you have done." Tsunade said narrowing her eyes.

"None of you would be here if it were not for me." Danzo said slamming his fist on the table.

"I feel we have heard enough." Tsunade said to the room. "All in favor of the full acquittal of Itachi Uchiha raise your hands and all opposed abstain."

Naruto paid close attention to the people who raised their hands. The Nara, Yamanaka, Akimichi all raised their hands as a group, Haruno did not along with the Inuzuka and Danzo himself. Asuma raised his hand along with Hiashi and Shibi Aburame. The last to raise their hand on the table was Obito because he was sitting at the right of the Hokage as every Uchiha head before him.

"Then as Tsunade Senju the Fifth Hokage acquit Itachi Uchiha of all crimes and welcome him back into the Leaf." With a bow Itachi walked out of the circle and stood beside Sasuke. "Now onto the other matter, will we hold Danzo Shimura accountable for his actions against a clan of the village? Raise your hand if you vote to send him to trial and abstain if not."

"I refuse." Danzo said to the council, no matter the decision I will not take being disrespected like this by the village I have devoted my entire life to protect." Without another word Danzo took on the appearance of a wooden puppet before all the color he had on faded until all that was left looked like a wood carving.

Tsunade's jaw dropped, "A wood clone!" She shouted as it splintered. She turned to the Anbu in the room, "Search the entire village and bring Danzo here!" Without a nod the Anbu left the room and went to find him. "I am calling a recess until Danzo can be found and brought to use, if anything his refusal to even attend this meeting in person is a clear sign of guilt."

XXXX

After everyone on the council left Tsunade ushered Team 7, Rin and Itachi into her office. "I want him found." She snarled before obliterating her desk by slamming both her fists against the table. "And who does Kizashi Haruno think he is talking like that?" Tsunade asked no one in particular.

Naruto was still clenching his fists when Sakura spoke up, "He is convinced that either the Uchiha are controlling the Kyuubi or the Kyuubi is controlling them and I am also under their control. To him it seems to be the only reason I would leave my family." She put her hand on Naruto's gently trying to get him to calm down.

Everyone in the room was silent because nothing they could say would make anything better. Shortly after an Anbu entered the room. "Lady Hokage it appears that Danzo and all members of ROOT have left the village."

"Damn it." Tsunade said, "I will be assigning reconnaissance missions to find him, it is unlikely this is the last we have heard of him. Shizune get me the paper work to mark him as a missing ninja." Shizune nodded before scurrying out of the room to find the right forms.

"For now all of you are dismissed." Tsunade said to the group. "When I get a chance I will work on the paperwork to get you reinstated as a ninja Itachi."

"That is not necessary Lady Hokage." Itachi said, "I don't plan to return to the shinobi corps."

Everyone looked at Itachi confused, "And why not?" Tsunade asked the Uchiha.

Itachi took a deep breath, he had not wanted it to come out like this but now was as good a time as ever. "Because Lady Hokage, I'm dying."

 **AN: I would like to thank all of my readers who have made it this far, seeing that people are enjoying my work is the main reason I have had the conviction to keep going with this story so long. This puts me at or around the 90,000 word mark and I'm still building towards the final confrontation. I do plan an epilogue to end the story but for now I' very happy with a majority of the content I have managed to put out and the reception some of my bolder choices have received. The two biggest being the fact that this is a NaruSaku story and that I also have Sasuke paired with Hinata. I've really loved writing this so far and I appreciate all of the support I've been given so far more than you can possibly imagine, every time I get a great review I get super excited, or even one with suggestions I take them very seriously and think if taking the advice would make my story better. Again thank you so much for the support and the continued reading and all future reviews too come I say thank you.**


	45. Wake Up Call

Everyone in the room was shocked to have heard that. "I'm sorry come again." Obito said clearing his ear with his pinky.

"I said I am dying Lord Obito." Itachi said to the room. "Shortly after I left the village I became very sick, if it were not for a passing ninja from the Mist I would have died on the road."

"You are currently standing in a room with three of the best medics in the world; you know that right?" Tsunade said to the Uchiha. "We would be more than willing to check and see if there is anything we can do."

"Thank you Lady Hokage, if there is anything that can be done I would greatly appreciate it, but that does not change the fact that I do not wish to continue my career as a shinobi."

"And what other reason is there?" Tsunade asked.

"You're nearly blind, aren't you?" Rin asked knowing the risks of using the mangekyo and that Itachi had it.

Itachi smiled, "Very perceptive lady Uchiha. Whether I live or die I would like to spend the rest of my life in peace. I have seen and done far too much to want to continue on this path."

Tsunade sighed, "I understand. I suppose I can't force you to wear the head band again. But that does bring us to the question of who leads the Uchiha clan."

"Obito." Sasuke and Itachi said at the same time, Sasuke continued, "Itachi and I left the village but Obito stayed behind to protect it and he has even started his own family of Uchiha here as well. It makes sense for him to continue in that capacity."

Obito was trying not to show the pride he was feeling hearing them talk about him this way.

Tsunade reached into her desk and pulled out a bottle of sake, "Ok unless any of you want to get hammered with me you can leave."

Sasuke was about to join her at the desk but Rin grabbed the back of his shirt collar, "Nope." She said yanking him out of the room.

XXXX

Sasuke was sitting in one of the training grounds in a meditative stance feeling the wind roll past him, he opened his eyes and saw the way the leaves and the grass bent and bowed to the wind, and he realized it was very similar to the way most people behaved. Nearly everyone he had ever met in his life was always reactive and never made things happen they would just go with the flow of everything else that was happening.

He knew he was like that and he hated it about himself. Obito, Naruto and even Itachi they made things happen, they were the kinds of people that made the world work. Sasuke knew he was thinking about all these things because he was trying to avoid the idea that Itachi was going to die. He chuckled to himself realizing how silly that sounded, he spent nearly ten years of his life wanting little more than to see Itachi dead and now that it just might happen he was conflicted.

Itachi was still the man who killed his family whether he was ordered to or not he still held the blade. And the years of nightmares he suffered about the Uchiha massacre and the countless times he dreamed about Itachi doing the same to his new family. The people in his life he cared about the most and he was petrified of seeing them hurt. So much so in fact that he joined a madman on his psychopathic quest to achieve eternal life.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when someone sat next to him. "We haven't really had a chance to speak; have we little brother?" Itachi said looking out into the distance as well.

"What is there to talk about?" Sasuke said.

Itachi grimaced, he was afraid that even with the truth being revealed that Sasuke would resent him. "If there had been another option I would've taken it. I was hopeful that Shisui's plan would have worked but sadly Danzo interfered."

Sasuke still refused to meet the gaze of his brother. "You left me all alone. After you killed mother and father I was alone."

"You were never alone." Itachi said simply, "Lord Obito was more than willing to take you in; and I owe him more than you could ever imagine for it."

"So everything still works out for the prodigy of the Uchiha." Sasuke said with an undertone of spite in his voice that was not missed by Itachi.

"Father always compared you to me." Itachi started and Sasuke finally turned to Itachi glaring at the man. "I always hated when he did that, because I knew if he did you would spend the rest of your life comparing yourself to others and belittling your own ability when it did not match up. I can see it in your eyes, you still compare yourself to me, you compare yourself to Lord Obito and most of all you compare yourself to Naruto."

Sasuke's eyes shifted to their Sharingan form, "You don't know anything about me Itachi." He spat.

"I actually know a great deal about you." Itachi said to the boy who was shocked, "The past two years I too have spent in search of you and Orochimaru. I wanted to kill him for cursing you the way he had."

"So that is what Obito meant when he told Orochimaru the Uchiha would have blood." Sasuke said relaxing. "He meant you."

Itachi nodded, "Not a day goes by where I don't hate myself for the decisions I have made in life or the people I have hurt. It is a miracle I am even able to come back here at all. When I left that night all those years ago I had never expected to come here again. But Naruto and Obito saved me from myself."

Sasuke stared at the ground in front of him. "Yeah they tend to do that."

Itachi stood up, "It would be best I left you for now; someone else is coming to speak with you. If you ever wish to speak with me I shall be in the Uchiha district."

Sasuke didn't hear the footsteps of Itachi as he walked away but he heard the slight ones of the person that came after. "Not used to seeing you this depressed, I mean normally you are a bit of a stick in the mud but this is something else." Hinata said as she sat next to Sasuke on the opposite side that Itachi had been on.

"What's it to you Hyuuga?" Sasuke said knowing how their game worked.

"Cut the shit Sasuke." Maybe he didn't know how it worked. "Ever since you got back you have been distant from everyone. Normally I would be cool with that but it's even more distant than you normally are."

Sasuke stood up and walked over to a tree before slamming his fist into the trunk leaving a dent twice the size of his fist. "Damn it Hinata I've changed ok!" He shouted without turning to her. "I gave up everything when I left to protect my family, I had expected to die there. I'm not supposed to be here now; do you understand that?"

Hinata continued to look ahead not reacting to his outburst. "The Hyuuga are always taught that fate is set in stone. But we all know that's not true, fate is an idea people have come up with to satisfy their need for self-pity. This idea that no matter what you do everything will always end up the way it is supposed to is a load of shit." She spat looking at the still seething Uchiha.

Sasuke turned away from her. "You don't know what I've seen, or what I've done." He could feel the tears threaten to spill.

Hinata shrugged her shoulders, "You're right I don't and I don't care either." Sasuke turned on his heel. "The reason I was always so fascinated by you Sasuke wasn't because of your strength, I could care less about that in a person. The true thing about you that I admired was your spirit. You always watched over the people you cared about. I remember one time you referred to yourself as an avenger but that isn't who you really are."

"Then what the hell am I?" Sasuke screamed desperate for the answer.

"You are a protector." Hinata said with a smile. "You were raised by the most gifted clan in the village, and then one of the strongest ninjas in the world. But none of that mattered you didn't fight or train for yourself I can see it in your eyes you do those things to protect the people you care about."

Sasuke relaxed all of his muscles and sat back on the grass a few feet from Hinata his eyes not leaving the spot that Itachi left. "And all I have done was hurt the people I care about."

"That's because you're an idiot." She said her usual smirk returning. "Most guys are don't take it personally." She stood up, "No walk me home. It would be dishonorable of an Uchiha to let a lady walk home by herself this close to dark."

Sasuke smiled a genuine smile. "Thank you Hinata."

She shrugged, "Don't sweat it, what are friends for?" She turned to start walking. "Are you coming?"


	46. Intentions

Obito was sitting on his couch trying to catch some shut eye before something else happened, he thought it was rather weird how something always happened. He heard the wood on the coffee table creak telling him someone was sitting on it. "Yes?" He asked without opening his eyes.

"Obito there's something I need to talk to you about." Came Naruto's voice.

Obito opened his eyes and looked at the blond clearly upset about something, "Alright what's up?"

"When I lost control of the Nine Tails during the fight with Pain I was about to release the seal." Naruto said avoiding eye contact. Obito leaned forward interested in what he was going to say. "But before I could do that someone stopped me."

"What do you mean someone stopped you?" Obito asked not sure how anyone could do that.

"When I was about to rip off the seal the Fourth Hokage stopped me." Naruto looked up and saw the look of panic Obito had on his face for a moment before he masked it with a curious look. "He told me how Orochimaru didn't work alone he was aided by Danzo and the rest of ROOT."

Obito shot out of his chair, "Why didn't you say anything sooner?" He asked the young blond.

"Because no one would believe me against Danzo." Naruto slumped down.

Now Obito was curious, "What else did he say?"

Naruto smiled back at the man, "He told me that he named me, and that's usually what fathers do for their sons. He also told me to thank you." Before Naruto realized it Obito was already hugging him.

"I'm sorry I never told you Naruto." He said trying to hold back to the tears in his eyes.

Naruto returned the embrace, "Did you ever want to tell me?"

Obito put Naruto at arm's length, "Every day. There isn't a day that has gone by where I didn't want to tell you the truth. I'm so sorry."

Naruto gently pushed Obito off of him. "I said don't worry about it. It makes sense my dad had a lot of enemies." He smiled after being able to call someone dad like that.

Obito saw it but Rin came in the room with a freshly changed Kakashi. "What are you guys talking about?"

Naruto smiled, "About my dad." He said excitedly to the woman.

Rin showed no emotion she gently handed Kakashi to Obito who took him without a word. He knew better than to talk when she was like this and he didn't know what was going on.

Rin walked out of the room for a moment and came back with a book. "This belongs to you Naruto." She said still showing no emotion.

Naruto dumbly nodded and slowly opened the first page, he saw the writing and his eyes were drawn to it quickly. "What is this?"

"It's Minato Sensei's journal." She said, "He would've wanted you to have it." And the dam broke and all the emotions she had flowed out of her.

Naruto thumbed through the pages and came to one of the last entries.

XXXX

 _Minato was sitting at his dining room table reading the book Jiraiya had written completely absorbed in it when he heard a knock on the door. He went up to the door and smiled when he saw who was on the other side of the door. "Hey Obito, hey Rin. What's up?" He said as he invited them inside._

 _"_ _We're worried about Kakashi." Rin started, "He's being even more distant than usual."_

 _"_ _And that's saying something coming from him." Obito grumbled crossing his arms before getting a glare from Rin._

 _"_ _Like I was saying," She started, "We are worried that he is not well." She said as gently as she could._

 _Minato slipped into his Hokage mode and his face became hard. "Do you think he should be pulled from active duty?" He had been worried about Kakashi too and if Obito and Rin had seen the same things than it was probably a bigger problem than he thought._

 _"_ _I don't know about all that sensei." Obito said putting his hands behind his head._

 _"_ _Lord Hokage." Rin said under her breath to the Uchiha. She was sure that if it weren't for her than Obito would be stuck doing D ranks again for mouthing off._

 _"_ _We don't need the formalities between us Rin." Minato said to them. "But I am worried about Kakashi. I have been monitoring him personally. Whenever he exerts himself too much in a spar or in his own training he seems to favor the arm that marked."_

 _Obito nodded, "Maybe I should fight him to see if he is still in top form." He said clearly trying to joke around. But when he opened his eyes he saw that they were both considering it. "I swear I was joking." He said putting his hands forward._

 _"_ _It's not a bad idea Obito." Rin said putting her hand on the boys shoulder which was not missed by Minato._

 _"_ _I like the sound of it. I'll be there so he will take it seriously." Minato said happy to spend some time with his old team. Ever since he became Hokage he's been so busy._

 _Obito scrunched his face, "Oh so the only way I would be taken seriously is if Minato sensei was there."_

 _Rin was about to say something when the door slammed open and a red blur hit Minato even faster than he could follow. "MinatoI'msoexcitedIjustwantedtotellyouassoonaspossibleI'mpregnant!" Kushina screamed out the gibberish that neither male in the room understood but Rin clearly did because she was bouncing in excitement._

 _"_ _That's amazing Kushina!" She said joining the hug._

 _Minato and Obito made confused eye contact for a moment neither really understanding what just happened._

 _"_ _What?" Minato asked to Kushina who looked up at him with shining eyes._

 _"_ _I said I'm pregnant y'know!"_

 _Minato went blank for a moment then smiled back and hugged her tightly. "I'm going to be a dad!" He shouted for the world to hear._

 _XXXX_

"They really wanted me?" Naruto said looking up at his guardians.

"The day they found out they were having you was one of the happiest days of their lives." Rin said sitting next to Naruto and hugging him.

XXXX

"You aren't fast enough yet." Sasuke said standing tall over a panting Hinata. "Your strikes are incredibly precise but their stiff. You don't fight with any form of fluidity."

Hinata spat out the small bit of blood in her mouth. "Some habits are hard to break. In my defense, not many people react as quickly as you do." She said reaching her hand out to Sasuke.

Sasuke reached his hand out and pulled Hinata to her feet. "But Kabuto is." He said with hard eyes.

Hinata fake quivered, "Oh Sasuke when you talk that way it makes me all weak in the knees." She said dramatically shaking. "I realize Kabuto is quick I've fought him before."

Sasuke smirked at the Hyuuga princess. "Careful there Hyuuga I might just need to punish you." Sasuke said slowly pulling Hinata into a kiss when he heard someone loudly clearing their throat.

Sasuke was shocked to see Hiashi Hyuuga standing in the field with them. He turned to a grinning Hinata who clearly knew her father was close when she started to tease him.

"I was not aware that anything was going on between the two of you." The always stoic man said to the duo.

For the first time he could remember Sasuke wasn't talking not because he didn't see the need but just because he was speechless.

Hiashi stared down the young Uchiha his eyes even activating the Byakugan for emphasis. Never one to back away from a challenge Sasuke activated his own eyes and stood his ground.

Hinata seeing the potential for a fight and any chance of anything ever happening between her and Sasuke stood in between the two men. "Yes you both have very scary eyes and you're very scary men." She said sarcastically as she could.

Sasuke backed down first seeing that this could only end badly if he pressed on followed by Hiashi's eyes relaxing as well. "Lord Hyuuga." Sasuke said merely to sound polite.

"Sasuke Uchiha." Hiashi said back, "Congratulations on your brother's name being cleared."

Sasuke was aware of the pleasantries that are required when speaking to the head of a household even if Obito always insisted on ignoring them. "It is a relief to know that my own flesh and blood is not truly responsible."

"Hinata would you give Sasuke and I a moment to talk alone?" Hiashi said to the princess who nodded before walking past her father taking extra care to shake her hips hoping it would distract Sasuke.

It worked he had to snap himself back to the reality of the Hyuuga clan head staring him down. "I hope you do not intend to simply throw my Hinata to the side when you are done with her." Hiashi said harshly to the boy.

Sasuke shook his head, "No I do not. I'm not sure either of us are really sure what this is but the second I know Hinata will be the first person to know."

Hiashi let out a breath, "I'm telling you this for the sake of my daughter. She may not say it but she has already made up her mind about you. After you left the village she began to train even harder and when asked why she would always say the same words, 'to keep up with Uchiha'. My daughter thinks the world of you Sasuke I do hope you will consider that from now on."

Having said his peace Hiashi turned around and walked away, once he was out of sight Hinata rejoined Sasuke in their usual spot by the tree where Sasuke had left a dent. "So what was that about?" She asked.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "You know how you Hyuugas are, always talking about nothing."

Hinata glared at Sasuke who still didn't budge instead he sat down. "What are you doing I want to train more."

Sasuke pointed to the horizon. "I'm watching the sun set. I always missed the way the village looked this time of night."

Hinata sat down beside Sasuke and watched it in silence with him. Sasuke occasionally stole glances to her, she was leaning back on her hands and just watching the horizon. Without thinking about it Sasuke put his hand on hers and left it there.

The Hyuuga princess turned to the Uchiha protector a blush threatening to cross her features and before she could say anything Sasuke's lips were already against hers. The sun set in front of them while they held their embrace.


	47. A Deadly Root

Sasuke was sitting in his room reading over an old scroll he had to see if he could learn anything new from it. He hated to admit it but he was actually kind of bored with how things were going. Itachi was going to start his treatments soon to get him back to full strength. Naruto and Sakura were spending more and more time together, Obito was overwhelmed by all the work he had to do with the counsel and in working to track down Danzo. Rin had taken some more time off from the hospital and was considering a permanent retirement to spend time with Kakashi.

The main thing that broke the mundane nature of his current life was Hinata. He hadn't expected things to happen between them so quickly but he had no complaints about it. Largely they behaved the same way they always had except now they were physically closer.

He stood up and walked out of his room to get a small bite to eat, he had become accustomed to a eating at different times than the rest of his family so he was struggling to adapt to that. He grabbed a rice ball that was prepared in the fridge and started to eat it at the dining room table when Rin walked into the house.

"Hey Sasuke." She said with a smile, after three steps from the door the whole front of the house blew open. Sasuke reacted immediately and pulled Rin away from the rubble. He looked out the now gaping hole in the house and saw a legion of masked ninjas in the village attacking anything they could.

Sasuke quickly ran into his room and grabbed his katana and froze when he past the dresser. His headband was sitting there where he left it after getting home the first night, he reached his hand out and grabbed it wrapping it around his forehead and tightening it the way it used to fit on his head.

Rin was readying any gear she still kept at the house, she was just glad that Kakashi was with Itachi at the Uchiha compound for now. She saw Sasuke come out of his room with his katana on his back and headband back where it belonged.

"We need to fend them off Rin!" Sasuke shouted.

XXXX

Obito was in another mindless council meeting and was ready for anything to break him out of the funk. He had not thought that through because the next moment the building shook. The village leaders all filed out the door and looked out the window to see the village on fire and people running in the streets and being cut down by masked ninjas.

Without hesitating the ninja leaders burst through the window to aid the rest of the village, Tsunade turned to the Anbu that were with her. "I need to set up the roof as HQ, we need to figure out what is going on out there and who is attacking!"

XXXX

Obito ran as fast as he could back to his home and cutting down every enemy that stood in his path. He rounded the corner and saw that the entire street was filled with enemy ninjas. He leaped into the air and performed the hand signs he needed before shouting, "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" Within seconds the entire street was scorched along with everyone that was in it.

Obito pressed on forward and saw what was left of his home and the crater that sat there now. He ran into the rubble and began to frantically search while screaming, "Rin, Naruto, Sasuke!" When he got no response, he felt the anger building in his gut, his eyes shifted to their mangekyo state and Obito faded out of reality.

XXXX

Naruto and Sakura were walking down the peaceful streets of the village just talking about nothing and smiling with one another. Naruto felt the anger coming from the village and without thinking picked Sakura up bridal style and ran up the nearest building and jumped as high as he could.

Sakura was about to yell at Naruto before she heard a loud boom. She looked down and saw that where they were once standing was now just a pile of rubble. "What happened?" She asked dumbfounded that someone would attack the village like that.

They landed on another building and looked around as more of the village was demolished by jutsus and people were screaming in the streets. Naruto looked down and saw the ninja about to attack a group of children that were playing in the park, in an instant he had already thrown his kunai and teleported over to it. He was too slow to catch the sword with his blade though so he used his arm. The sword cut through to the bone and Naruto grit his teeth and with his other hand formed a Rasengan and slammed it into the stomach of the attacker.

Sakura jumped down and started to heal Naruto's arm. She could see that his eyes had shifted from their normal blue into the red she knew came from Kyuubi. "Naruto you have to calm down. You're no good to us if you lose your cool."

Naruto shook his head knowing she was right and when his eyes opened again they were their usual blue. He looked down and saw that his arm was healed already. "You sure work fast Sakura." He said with a smile to help reassure the girl.

"It's not all me baka." She said trying to lighten the mood. "If it weren't for Kyuubi you might've lost the arm just now." She was still shocked by how quickly Naruto always seemed to heal and recover from anything. "Alright I'm going to stick with you and watch your back ok?"

Naruto nodded with a smile, "Sounds good. We need to find any other Leaf Ninjas we can and take out some of the attackers!"

Sakura nodded and the two ran off to face whatever may come.

XXXX

Sasuke had cut down another enemy and felt himself running out of breath. He was refusing to use the curse mark even if it was burning on his shoulder. Even with the seal he currently had on it he didn't feel right using that power anymore. He still felt the itching at the back of his mind to use it.

Rin slammed her fist into another ninja demolishing a building as they landed. Her eyes constantly scanning the constantly growing battlefield. If she were to guess almost the entire village was currently under attack. She picked up one of the masks and her heart stopped for a moment when she realized it was a ROOT mask. "Sasuke we have to get to the Uchiha compound; these are ROOT ninjas!"

Sasuke nodded knowing what she meant. She was going to go and protect Kakashi, even if Itachi was there he wasn't well and she needed to protect her baby. "Go, I'll be right behind you!" He shouted clashing swords with an enemy.

XXXX

Naruto had lost track of how many ninjas he had killed. He knew that if it wasn't for having to come from fight to fight like this he already would've lost his lunch. He could hear the destruction caused by Sakura behind him as she killed any enemies that Naruto missed. He came to a clearing and saw that an entire park had been leveled and only rubble remained.

Sakura landed next to Naruto, "What could've done this?" She looked all around and she remembered this was the park where her and Naruto had met.

"A summon could do it." He racked his brain, "But the only ones big enough are the Toads, Slugs, and Snakes. I'm the only Toad summoner, you and Tsunade can summon the Slugs and that leaves just the…" He trailed off as realization hit, he knew Orochimaru could summon the snakes but he didn't know who else.

Naruto ran off the other direction toward the Hokage tower to relay the information he had picked up. His legs were starting to burn from the way he had been running and fighting but he wasn't going to stop. "Sakura we need to tell Granny!"

Sakura nodded and chased after Naruto, she knew the only reason he wasn't using the Hirashin was because teleporting with two people was incredibly exhausting. "Naruto you go on ahead without me! I'm going to go and protect the hospital!"

Naruto stopped and turned to Sakura with a determined look in his eyes. "You better come back, you hear me?" He said just like she had said to him when he fought Gaara.

Sakura nodded and punched her own fist with a smirk on her face, "You bet." Without another word Naruto blinked away.

XXXX

Rin slammed a ninja through the wall of the Uchiha compound and ran inside. She was able to find where Itachi had been by the sheer amount of bodies. She and Sasuke followed the carnage until it made its way into the main house.

She entered the room and saw Itachi holding Kakashi with one arm and a blood soaked kunai in the other. "Ah Lady Rin, I am glad to see you have made it." He said simply.

Sasuke rolled his eyes walking into the room. He knew this was the same room his parents had been killed in but he was suppressing all of those emotions. "Now that we have Kakashi we need to meet up with everyone else and form a plan to eliminate the threat."

Itachi nodded, "You are right Sasuke. Lady Rin I recommend that you get to somewhere safe and you and Kakashi stay there."

Rin glared at Itachi, "I'm not going to sit around while my village and my family fight!"

Sasuke's jaw dropped when he saw the thing that he knew Rin had been working toward for years. The Strength of a Hundred Seal was sitting on her forehead. The purple rhombus that had been her life's goal was now proudly adorning her head.

Itachi seeing it as well nodded, "After you Lady Rin." He said gesturing out of the room.

Rin walked out holding Kakashi in her arms and running toward the Hospital where she could leave him for safety.

XXXX

Naruto appeared on the Hokage tower next to Tsunade. "Naruto tell me what is going on!" Tsunade barked in her Hokage voice.

"It looks like ROOT has infiltrated most of the village. Leaf Ninjas are all over the place just fighting any enemy they see and hoping to make the best of it. Small squads have formed but beyond that there is no strategy on our part and the enemy is aware of that. They have attacked numerous soft targets while trying to get the death count as high as they possibly can."

Tsunade nodded, "So this is what Danzo always meant by protecting the village."

"I had the Uchiha killed when they posed a threat." The voice of Danzo said behind them. The two turned and saw the man with dead Anbu surrounding him. "I am more than willing to cull in order to protect the strongest in the village."


	48. The Avengers

Naruto readied his kunai and stood in front of Tsunade. "How dare you show your face here again!"

Danzo looked at Naruto for a moment. "Ah the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. I suppose you hold the same weak spirit as your mother and father."

Naruto grit his teeth but refused to get pulled into the mind games. "I don't want to hear it Danzo!" Naruto shouted and threw his kunai at the older man.

In the blink of an eye Naruto was in front of Danzo but this was different, when did he remove the bandages from his eye? Danzo opened his eye and a Sharingan appeared, Naruto froze in panic just long enough for Danzo to stab Naruto in the stomach with a long branch of wood.

Naruto collapsed on the ground holding the branch as blood continued to pool around him.

Danzo looked down at the boy and ahead at Tsunade. "Now that I have incapacitated your secret weapon I suppose it's just you and me now." Danzo said unwrapping his arm. The locks around him fell with a deafening thud and he extended out his arm.

Tsunade was shocked when she saw the pale arm, but the scary part was that eyes seemed to open all along the arm and they all had the Sharingan. "How did you?" She asked disgusted at what she was seeing.

"This is the result of the Uchiha Massacre and years of experimentation on the cells of Hashirama Senju." He said readying himself for combat. "Now Fifth Hokage, prove that you are deserving of that title!"

Tsunade readied herself in her own stance and in a moment Danzo had cleared the space between them cracking the ground he had been standing on. He slammed his fist into Tsunade's stomach and sent her flying into another building.

Danzo regained his footing from the heavy punch. He looked ahead to where he knew Tsunade was and he saw her hands reach out first to pull herself up. Once she was on her feet he noticed that her strength of a hundred seal was active and healing her damaged body.

XXXX

Rin burst into the hospital holding a crying Kakashi in her arms and was followed by the Uchiha brothers. She found the children's ward, "Here take him." Rin said handing the child to the attendant on duty.

"At once Lady Uchiha." The woman said with a curt bow.

Rin turned her attention to the two Uchiha that had been following her, Itachi's face seemed as bored as it always was but Sasuke seemed out of breath and exhausted. "Itachi you stay here you are in no condition to fight in your condition. Sasuke are you alright?"

Before Sasuke could respond Itachi spoke first. "Do not worry about me Lady Uchiha, I am here and I will do anything I can to protect this village."

Hearing his brother's words Sasuke nodded to Rin. "Same goes for me."

Rin nodded at the two. "Alright we need to figure out some sort of strategy because right now it just seems like a mad rush."

XXXX

Tsunade was having a hard time maintaining her footing her seal was losing power faster than it normally did. She dropped to her knee in front of Danzo. "Well it seems the Senju bitch is finally in her place." Danzo said to the woman panting for breath.

Tsunade spit out the blood in her mouth. "Kiss my ass you sick piece of shit."

Danzo kicked her in the chin knocking her back. "That is enough out of you Lady Hokage. In fact I think that is all I care to hear from you anymore." He grew a wooden branch out of his arm, "Now before you die, I want you to tell me where you've hidden the body of the Rinnegan user."

Tsunade looked up at him again, she was positive that no matter what she said he was going to kill her so she saw no point in conceding; not that she would've anyway. "Go to hell!" Was the last thing she said before Danzo stabbed her with the root just like he had Naruto.

"You always were to brash for your own good." Danzo said to the now bleeding unconscious woman.

"So that is what happened to all the bodies that night." Came a deep voice behind Danzo. He glared at the man now in front of him. He stood wearing purple robes that were tied by a white belt. The collar continued up until it reached a white mask with symmetrical lines rounding around it until they met where three tomoe sat like the Sharingan while two of them were eye holes.

Danzo readied himself for another fight. "And just who are you?"

The masked man grabbed the battle fan that was on his back and held it ready to battle. "I am the ghost of all the Uchiha you killed that night." He pointed the fan out like a sword at Danzo. "And I plan to take them all back from you."

Danzo readied himself for more combat he didn't know what he was facing so he readied himself for anything. He recognized that fan as the Gunbai that had been used by Madara himself during the warring states period and again when he fought Hashirama. "Brining ancient weapons out isn't going to scare me."

"You're right." The masked man said, "Just bringing them out isn't enough to scare you, but what if I showed you what it could do?" Without another word, he swung the fan out and the winds that rushed at Danzo were so strong that the stones in the ground were ripped out and flung away.

Danzo covered his eyes from the sheer power of the wind. When he opened them again he saw the masked man had already moved in front of him and kicked him away. The masked man disappeared into nothingness after landing the kick.

XXXX

Rin followed by Sasuke and Itachi fought their way farther into the village heading to the Hokage tower which was in the center of the village. Rin stopped when she saw the back of someone wearing the Uchiha crest. "Obito!" She yelled out running to her husband who was kneeling on the ground out of breath.

Sasuke looked around and the amount of bodies surrounding them was scary, he had no idea this is the ability that Obito possessed.

"Hey babe, glad to see you're ok." He said in between breaths, "So dinner and a movie tonight?" He asked before laughing.

Rin helped him up seeing no injuries on him just that he was exhausted. "What's going on?"

"It's Danzo." He said, "He was fighting Lady Tsunade and now he's fighting someone in a mask."

Itachi looked out into the distance, "Their fight is taking place in that direction." Without another word the group all ran in that direction.

XXXX

Naruto was trying to pick himself back up, he was falling in and out of consciousness. When he looked again he was in the mindscape. And he was looking up at Kurama. "Well I guess after today you get to be free again." Naruto said chuckling to the fox.

"As much as I would appreciate my freedom, I don't want to see you dead." Kurama said sitting in the cage. "I'm going to give you more of my chakra so you can heal yourself; you are going to have to keep yourself in check. If you lose control in the village then it will only end badly."

Naruto nodded and he felt the chakra from Kurama surround him as he opened his eyes back on the outside world. He grabbed the root in his stomach and with a grunt pulled it out. He noticed that the thing had gone all the way through his stomach, if it didn't hurt so much he would laugh about how Sakura would've scolded him for charging into a fight so heavy like that. He felt himself black out and his head hit the ground and then nothing.

XXXX

Danzo was quickly losing his temper fighting this masked man, nothing he could do seemed to stick, if he engaged him with taijutsu the man was untouchable as he weaved his way through every attack, if he attempted to use ninjutsu the Gunbai was able to redirect the attack away.

"I had hoped the great Danzo Shimura would've posed a greater challenge. I suppose choosing the Third Hokage instead of you was the best decision." The masked man said simply.

Danzo charged forward with every ounce of his strength and lunged at the mask but missed and realized that he had been impaled by a kunai. Danzo spit up blood that was quickly filling his mouth as he landed on the ground.

The masked man stood over him and watched the old man wretch up the blood. "The Uchiha will have blood." Before anything else could be done Danzo faded away into nothingness. The masked man looked around before he heard a voice behind him.

"You Uchiha still don't comprehend the power of your eyes." Danzo said standing behind the man.

"Izanagi. I had never actually expected to see it in my life time." He said readying himself to continue fighting.

XXXX

Rin and the three Uchiha's finally pushed through to the park where the battle was happening. They saw the masked man standing opposite Danzo and a few yards away from them Tsunade was laying on the ground. Rin charged forward to pull her master out of the way of the battle. She saw that the seal on her forehead had worn off and Tsunade was not self-healing anymore. She activated her own seal that spread across her body and then onto Tsunade's.

The three Uchiha stood next to the masked man against Danzo. "Today we kill you for what you've done to our family." Sasuke said readying his blade and Sharingan the others all readied themselves for this fight.

"So this is what it all comes down to then. Me and my infinite power against all of you. The two traitors, the fool who doesn't know when to quit and a dead man." He spat out every word.

"I won't let this go on anymore." Itachi said walking in front of the others. "I was once a ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves and if I must I shall die as one!" He shouted as his mangekyo took shape and his eyes began to bleed.

Sasuke stood on in shock as a red chakra surrounded Itachi, it wasn't the same kind that would surround Naruto no this one seemed to be a part of Itachi. "Itachi stop it!" Sasuke screamed out.

"I am sorry little brother." He said turning to Sasuke one last time before facing Danzo again. "Now face the power of my Susanoo!" The red chakra took shape and grew a skeleton followed by a muscle structure. And lastly a shroud came around the body covering everything but the eyes.

Watching in shock Sasuke witnessed the greatest feet of strength he had ever laid eyes on at the Susanoo slammed its fist down onto Danzo. They all heard the cracking of the bones but when the Susanoo's hands had moved there was no sign of him.

Itachi started to cough up blood and fell to the ground as the Susanoo faded away from him. Sasuke ran up and held his body. "This time Sasuke, you have to show me that you are better." Itachi reached his hand out and touched Sasuke on the forehead with his index and middle fingers.

"Itachi!" Sasuke screamed out as the curse mark on his shoulder flared and took over his entire body.

Obito was about to step forward when the masked man held him back. "This needs to happen." Was all he said, with a glare Obito submitted.

Danzo reappeared a few feet away from the fallen Itachi. "Well it seems that the prodigy of the Uchiha was just as easy to kill as the Kyuubi."

Sasuke's eyes snapped forward and he stared at Danzo, "What did you just say?"

Danzo seeing that he struck a chord and wanting to strike more spoke again. "Yes he died trying to be a hero just like Itachi did. It's a shame really, I was hoping they both would've put up more of a fight."

Sasuke screamed and grabbed his face as one of his eyes shifted to a sickly yellow color, the shocking part was the other one changed from the usual Sharingan shape to now looking like a flower with six petals all spread out. "Die!" Sasuke screamed as Danzo was consumed by black flames.

Danzo again faded out of reality and back in a few feet away unharmed. "I cannot be killed Uchiha." He said proudly.

Sasuke began to scream in pain and grasp his shoulder as a gigantic white mass shot out of it.

Obito stared at the gigantic eight headed white snake move around the battlefield. While he was distracted Danzo charged and slammed a piece of wood through Obito's chest and his fist into the masked man's face.

Rin felt her world fall apart around her she threw the last kunai she had been holding. It wasn't until after she threw it she saw Obito poof out of existence like a shadow clone.

Danzo was about to react and catch the kunai but it stopped a few inches before he got the chance, what he saw in front of him left him baffled and shocked.

A man surrounded by a golden stream of chakra with marking on his collar that was raised up. "That's enough." The golden man said before slamming a black orb into Danzo's stomach.

Rin watched slack jawed, "Sensei?" She asked seeing the man in a cloak she was sure it had to be Minato, no one else moved that fast or had that much power.

The massive snake turned its attention to the golden man, one of its mouths opened and a naked Orochimaru was pushed out of it. "Ah so I see you have finally gained control of your power now."

The masked man tossed the bits of mask still attached to him to the side. Rin gasped when she saw it was Obito the whole time.

The golden man turned to Obito. "Big brother Obito, Danzo isn't finished yet I can still sense him. I need you and Sasuke to handle him while I handle the snake bastard."

Obito nodded, "You got it Naruto!" Obito ran over to pick Sasuke up to his feet. "Can you still fight?"

Sasuke stood on his own and looked at Obito, the blood was still falling out of his eyes. "I'm going to make Danzo scream in agony!"

Obito nodded taking that as a yes. "Well then by all means try." Danzo said standing a few feet away.

XXXX

Naruto bent his legs and launched up and in one motion took off one of the snake's heads. "Ah so Naruto you seem to finally be ready to stop playing ninja and start being one." Orochimaru hissed at the boy.

Naruto landed on the ground and his cloak flourished behind him as he landed. "No Orochimaru this is the final day you oppose us!" In a massive blast of chakra Naruto became surrounded by a full-bodied shape of Kurama made of chakra.

"We won't have much time in this form Naruto." Kurama said to the boy who simply nodded.

XXXX

Obito readied himself for this fight he held the Gunbai tightly in his hand but Sasuke charged forward first. Danzo slashed his arm across and a visible form of wind chakra sailed to Sasuke who slid underneath it on his knees. Obito deflected the blast while Sasuke bounced back to his feet driving his sword into Danzo. "Just give up!"

Danzo faded and reappeared starting to look winded. "Please boy, enough of your simple attempts to kill me." He charged at Obito ready to stab at him with wood but he fell through Obito who stood and watched him with his mangekyo active.

"What?" He screamed in fear. "I thought you were only moving quickly that was the intel I had arranged!" He screamed out.

Obito smiled, "You tried using Shisui's eye on Tsunade to gather intel on my abilities and that's why she asked Sakura to report on my abilities." Obito said with a smirk on his face. "Guess you choose the wrong person. My team is my family." Obito said walking up to the man. "And my family is loyal." He grabbed hold of Danzo and he started to fade into Kamui.

"I will not accept this!" Danzo shouted ripping his shirt open. "Reverse Four Symbols Sealing!" He shouted.

Obito immediately dropped him and charged forward grabbing Sasuke and then turning on his heel he landed on top of Rin and Tsunade and pumping as much chakra as he could into his eyes they all were warped into Kamui.

XXXX

Orochimaru saw what had happened. "Unfortunately Naruto I am going to have to cut our little battle short." He said before licking his lips, "I will have the power I desire soon enough!" And in a poof, he was gone.

"He was summoned away." Kurama said as Naruto was slowly lowered to the ground and the chakra dispersed as well.

When Naruto was on the ground he saw that his chakra cloak had disappeared. He looked around and saw a massive perfectly rounded crater and Itachi's body but nothing else. He was about to panic when Sakura landed in the clearing sweating and clearly already panicking.

"Naruto!" She screamed as she pulled him into a hug. "I saw Nine Tails and I was so worried." She said crying into his shoulder.

Naruto just stared ahead at the round crater when he thought he saw a swirling coming from it. A moment later Sasuke, Tsunade, Rin and Obito all fell out of the disturbance.

Naruto saw that Obito and Sasuke had passed out from exhaustion and Tsunade had yet to wake up. Rin was working to heal them as much as she could and Sakura seeing what was happening ran over as well.

Naruto looked to the side and saw a brown haired Anbu watching him ready to move at a moment's notice. "Don't sweat it Tenzo." Naruto said waving the man off. "What about the rest of the village?"

Tenzo walked up to Naruto, "It seems that all of the ROOT ninjas have all either been killed or vanished."

Naruto nodded, "Good. Hey Tenzo." Naruto said to the man who looked to him. "Carry me." Naruto said before passing out into the arms of the masked Anbu.

 **AN: And with that I am ready to move into what I plan to have be the final arc. I had been planning the Uchiha VS Danzo fight from the beginning, I was also able to use it as a way to bring Orochimaru back and give Sasuke the mangekyo in one move. Now I hope I fooled at least some of you with "the masked man" especially after I showed Obito's shadow clone in another part of the village. I had wanted to do something with the masks he wore and I saw no opportunity for Tobi so I figured this would be the best part to do it. That is supposed to be the same outfit he got the night of the Uchiha Massacre if that was not obvious. Well as usual thank you so much for reading this far the end is in sight and I plan to make it a good one. And of course reviews are always appreciated, have a good day everyone!**


	49. True Loneliness

Sakura was sitting in Naruto's hospital room. She had been one of three people allowed in the room by the Anbu guard outside. Everyone in the village had seen the Nine Tails fight Orochimaru, there was no way they would be able to convince them it was a massive genjutsu this time. The paw prints were still fresh in the ground.

After being brought to the hospital for severe chakra exhaustion the yellow chakra had bubbled off of Naruto and would burn anyone who tried to touch him. Anyone except Sakura and Rin, if Sakura had to guess she would assume that was because Kyuubi only trusted those two.

Sakura stood up from her chair and brushed a bit of hair out of Naruto's face, it had been two days since the attack and he had yet to regain consciousness. Sasuke regained his after a few hours and Obito half a day after that. Naruto was still out cold though and Sakura assumed it had something to do with Kyuubi.

She sat up and tried all the tricks Ino had taught her about entering someone's mind, she had one more, she placed her hand on Naruto's head and cast the genjutsu on him bringing her inside of his mind.

XXXX

Sakura looked around at the large sewer system that made-up Naruto's mind. She could hear breathing coming from one hallway so she followed it. After entering the large room she saw the space where the massive bars that held Kyuubi had once been and he was laid out partially in the cage partially out. "Ah so the vixen finally makes her way inside." The loud booming voice said.

Sakura stared up at the massive beast, she had seen the way it looked when Naruto fought Orochimaru but at that time it looked like a mass of chakra now it seemed like flesh and blood. "You're Kurama." She said still in awe at what she was seeing.

Kurama sat up and looked at her, "Did that brat tell you my name! I'll kill him!" He screamed out and stood up.

Sakura felt her knees wobble from the fear as the massive fox approached her. She tried to back away but found that her legs wouldn't budge. "Don't hurt me." She said trying to sound braver than she actually felt.

Kurama noticed all of these behaviors and decided to ignore them. "Naruto is busy, I am keeping his body running and he will return when he is ready."

Sakura nodded, "Thank you!" She blurted out before doing a short bow, Kurama cocked his head confused at the mortal in front of him. "You saved Naruto." Sakura said. "We thought he had been killed by Danzo but you saved him and then the rest of the village. You deserve a thank you from all of them!"

Kurama smiled down at the small woman before bending down so his snout was a few feet away from her. "Naruto saved me, so I had to return the favor." He sat back up, "Like I said Naruto will return when he is ready."

"Kurama she's awesome!" Came the familiar voice of Naruto as he leaped up and landed on Kurama's head. "She told me all about how the two of them met and everything!" He noticed the pinkette staring in shock at the display of affection Naruto had shown the fox. "Hey Sakura!" He said waving to her before looking around, "How did you get in here?"

Sakura was on the verge of tears when Naruto landed in front of her, he reached his hand out to grab hers but she kept the fist. "You baka!" She shouted hitting him on the top of the head.

As Naruto was falling Sakura caught him in her arms, "Don't ever scare me like that again." She said holding him as close as she could.

XXXX

Sakura opened her eyes and saw a blue pair staring back at her. "You miss me?" He asked with a big smile on his face.

Sakura hugged him again, "I was so worried about you." She was holding Naruto as tightly as she could and not letting go.

"I'm right here Sakura. I'll always be right here." He said stroking her hair.

XXXX

Obito was standing in the council chambers, instead of his usual chair he was standing in the middle. "After looking over the notes left by the Third Hokage and from the Fifth Hokage," Shikaku Nara said, "we have decided to name you Obito Uchiha the Sixth Hokage."

Obito stared off into space and then looked all around him, there wasn't a disapproving face in the room. "Why me?"

Shikaku let out a breath, "The council has chosen you because of your rich experience as a ninja, your clear talent for politics. And most of all your contributions to the most recent attack against the village. If it weren't for you Lady Tsunade would be much worse than just in critical condition." He said closing the file he had out on Obito.

Obito looked around and it looked like everyone had that folder. "I don't know what to say."

"Please say that you accept, finding anyone else would be a drag." The genius said pinching the bridge of his nose.

Obito nodded furiously, "I do thank you very much! But what of Lady Tsunade?"

Hiashi spoke next, "She had been wanting to retire soon anyway and we saw this as the best time to do so."

Obito nodded and started to bounce on his heels. "Thank you very much for the consideration." Without another word, he ran out of the room, "I need to tell my wife!" He yelled back while still running.

XXXX

Rin was going over some charts when her door opened and a panting Obito was standing there. "Hokage, gasp, council, gasp, new!" He screamed out.

Rin shot up, "What about Lady Tsunade and a new council?"

Obito waved her off, "Hokage, gasp." And then he pointed at himself.

It only took a moment before Rin understood what he had meant, and with all her strength she jumped forward and tackled Obito to the ground. "You're going to be the Hokage!" She screamed out as she held onto the Obito who was gasping for breath even harder after having the wind knocked out of him.

XXXX

Sasuke was sitting in his room at the Uchiha compound where they had all moved their things. He was the only person at home right now. Kurenai had started to help babysitting Kakashi so he didn't have to worry about it. He was looking into a mirror at his new eyes. He still couldn't believe he had them. He was terrified when he had found out Danzo had stabbed Naruto and was horrified that he had lost him forever, just like he lost Itachi for good this time.

Rin had been looking into the proper method for giving Sasuke the Eternal Mangekyo so that he wouldn't go blind. Obito had his own way to prevent it but wouldn't tell anyone what that was. He heard a knock at the door so he deactivated his eyes and went to open the door. Before he could even get the door open Hinata walked in like she owned the place. "Yes come in make yourself at home." Sasuke said dismissively.

Hinata stopped after taking a few steps and looked around at the empty house. "What a lovely home you have." She said sarcastically before heading over to the fridge. When she opened it all she saw inside was tomatoes a carton of milk and bottles that had been taped over.

"Is everything alright?" Sasuke asked starting to get worried.

Hinata sat down on the floor holding one of the bottles and two cups. "Can't a girl come over to check on her boyfriend?" She looked up at him with kind eyes that she rarely showed, "I'm worried about you Sasuke."

Without another word Sasuke sat down across from her taking the glasses and pouring some of the clear liquid inside. "I'm fine." He said as he took a gulp and grimaced at the taste.

Hinata did the same, "Bull. If you were fine, then you wouldn't have awakened your mangekyo."

"How many people know?" He asked taking another sip.

"That's not what's important you ass."

Without a word Sasuke threw his glass at the wall and it shattered, "Then you tell me what is?" He growled out, "My brother is dead and I thought I had lost my best friend in the world in the same day! And I don't know what it is I'm supposed to feel. The thought of losing him makes me hurt on the inside and I can't think straight without the pain left behind." He snatched the bottle and chugged a good portion out.

"You know you are the first person to really ask me how I felt that isn't an Uchiha." He said drinking more.

"If Naruto was awake he would've already checked on you, and you know it!" Hinata snapped back.

"It doesn't matter, just thinking I lost him was enough to send me over the edge! I was ready to watch the whole village burn if it meant I could kill Danzo. Do you know what that means?"

Hinata shook her head no, "It doesn't matter what that means anyone would feel that way in your place."

"I just feel so empty and alone. I don't know what's going to happen next, I'm terrified of everyone leaving me alone again." Hinata brought her hand across Sasuke' cheek and the smack shocked even her.

"Fuck you Sasuke Uchiha. You were never alone, never!" She screamed at him. "You always had someone there for you, be it your parents and brother, and later Obito and Naruto so I don't want to hear you talk about loneliness you don't even know the meaning of the word!"

Sasuke saw the tears freely fall from Hinata's face. "I have spent my entire life in a home filled with emotionally dead people who either hate me because of who my father is or don't care enough about me to do anything either way! I have spent my entire life being told that I'm not good enough to be the Hyuuga heiress and that I should just get out of the way and let my little sister take my place!"

Sasuke tried to reach out to comfort Hinata but she pushed him away. "No I don't want to hear it Sasuke. You actually have people that care about you and you're just sitting in here alone and feeling sorry for yourself." With that she stood up and left Sasuke alone with his thoughts again.


	50. Catalyst

Naruto had finished getting dressed out of his hospital gown. He was ready to leave the hospital for a long time. After waking up they kept him over night to watch him but nothing happened except that he was really bored.

Naruto smiled when he saw Obito enter the room. "Hey what's up?" Naruto said happy to see his brother.

Obito shrugged his shoulders, "Nothing much, just some Hokage business."

Naruto nodded along putting his left sandal on and he stopped after putting the right one half way on. "What do you mean Hokage stuff?"

Obito let out a big sigh and sat on a chair in a slumping position. "The endless amounts of paperwork that have been left for me." Obito looked at the dumbstruck Naruto. "Did I not tell you?"

"No you didn't tell me!" Naruto shouted throwing his sandal at the Uchiha. "When did this happen?"

Obito caught the sandal and smiled at the blond, "When you were unconscious. The council named me the Hokage after Tsunade." He said with a massive smile.

Naruto took his sandal back and slipped it onto his foot. "Does this mean you want me to start calling you Lord Hokage; cause it's not gonna happen."

Obito chuckled, "Wouldn't dream of it. Now c'mon everyone is waiting for you downstairs." He said walking out of the room.

Naruto didn't understand what he had meant by that so once he was sure that he wasn't forgetting anything he left the room and made his way to the stairs that led out of the hospital. He got to the last door and saw Obito standing there waiting for him. "You ready?" He asked the already confused blond.

Naruto looked at him confused before Obito opened the door and let the sun light wash inside. Still not understanding Naruto went out the door and saw the massive crowd all waiting for him. He tried to back up out of apprehension, he didn't like a crowd forming around him.

Obito put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Naruto Uzumaki: The Hero of the Hidden Leaf!" He shouted before the crowd joined in chanting the same thing.

Naruto's eyes became wide as the crowd approached him all cheering. He saw most of his friends there as well, what he had not expected however was the crowd to pick him up and start throwing him in the air cheering for him.

"Uzumaki!" They chanted as the laughing blond was thrown in the air. Obito stood back watching Naruto finally get the recognition he always deserved.

XXXX

Sasuke was in his own back yard going over his personal katas repeatedly until they became like second nature to him. They already were but he wanted his body to move on its own without him having to think about it. He heard his front door open and close but he was going to ignore it.

"Sasuke are you in here?" Rin asked poking her out the door. She was wearing a baby carrier that had Kakashi inside of it. "Oh there you are." She said with a smile coming out to see him.

"What do you want Rin?" He said not stopping his movements.

"I was worried about you." She said looking at him with sad eyes, "We all are."

"Oh so are you going to yell at me now too?" He said stopping his movements but not turning to her.

"Who yelled at you Sasuke?" Rin asked approaching the boy. "Talk to me."

Sasuke turned to look at Rin, she seemed genuinely concerned and not ready to snap on him so he decided to tell her. "Hinata came over here yesterday, we had a fight about everything that was going on." He started up his motions again.

"If it were that simple you would've already spoken to someone else about it." She said rubbing Kakashi's back.

Sasuke let out a scream and the grass around him shook for a moment then stopped, "Of course I'm not ok. I watched my brother die and thought I was going to lose the other two." Sasuke sat down where he stood, "Itachi died thinking that I hated him."

Rin felt herself get emotional but she knew that wasn't the way to help Sasuke. "Either way Itachi never stopped loving you."

Sasuke gripped the grass beside him in anger. "None of this is right, people like him don't deserve to die. Good people shouldn't die."

Rin carefully sat beside the boy taking care not to hurt Kakashi. "I know how you feel. I've seen many people that I care about die in my lifetime and I wish I could tell you that it gets easier but it doesn't. We just have to keep moving forward and not burn the bridges we already have with the living, when you become obsessed with the dead you lose a piece of yourself." She held Kakashi tighter in her arms.

"He meant that much to you." Sasuke said looking at the baby, "Kakashi, I mean."

Rin nodded her head, "Our team was very close, none of us really had a family. Kakashi's father committed suicide when he was very young, Obito never met his birth parents and I lost mine during the second war. We all seemed to be there for the other, Obito was actually the one that brought us all together."

Sasuke noticed the far-off look in her eyes. "What happened?"

Rin looked down at the sleeping form of Kakashi. "During a routine mission we were to demolish a bridge to cut off the Stone's supply line. I got taken when the others were busy fighting. Obito came to save me all on his own and almost died but Kakashi saved him and lost his eye for it."

XXXX

 _Obito and Kakashi stood away from the second ninja that had taken Rin. "She's a tough one. We managed to put her under the genjutsu easy enough but she still won't give us the intel we need."_

 _Obito clenched his fists his newly acquired Sharingan boring into the man. Kakashi was checking the straps on his bracers._

 _The man put his hands out, "So kids," He said in a taunting manner. "Are we going to do this or what?"_

 _Not needing another invitation Obito and Kakashi ran forward ready to battle the man and save their friend. Kakashi pulled out his tanto and swung it at the enemy who easily blocked it, Obito seeing an opening swung his kunai at the open side only to have his attack blocked by the blade on his other hand._

 _Kakashi jumped to slash at the now distracted man and as he was about to slash the Stone ninja began to bring the blades together. Using his Sharingan Obito saw what was happening so he stuck his two legs out to block it and immediately begun hand signs, "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" He screamed and at the same moment Kakashi's blade sliced into the man's shoulder a fireball flew out of Obito's mouth burning the man alive._

 _He fell with a thud after he stopped screaming clearly dead and the two ran over to wake up Rin. Kakashi laid his hand on the medic ninja and held his other one out in a seal, "Release." He said waking her up._

 _"_ _Kakashi, Obito?" She asked looking around the room confused._

 _"_ _We're here to rescue you." Obito said reaching his hand out to the brunette who took it._

 _"_ _We need to get out of here and head to Kanabi Bridge." Kakashi said eyeing the exit._

 _Obito followed his line of sight, "How many are out there Kakashi?"_

 _"_ _I've counted at least twenty maybe more." He looked at his two teammates, "Before we go out there I want to thank you guys for everything."_

 _Obito patted the silver haired jonin on the back. "Don't sweat it, after this mission is over you can use part of your promotion bonus to buy us all dinner." He said with a big smile._

 _Kakashi nodded and they all exited the room and saw the ninjas ready to attack._

 _Kakashi performed a set of hand signs and the lightning began to crack around his hand, he had not noticed Obito follow his signs exactly and was now holding his own ball of lightning._

 _Obito reached his hand out to Kakashi, "Link them together." Kakashi nodded to his friend and as their hands touched the lightning began to intermingle and move as one. "Rin you watch our back ok?" The Uchiha said to the brunette over his shoulder. "And if we don't make it out of here I just need to tell you that I…" He stopped when he felt Rin's lips on his cheek._

 _"_ _Give em hell." She said to both boys who without another word took off straight for the oncoming attackers._

 _XXXX_

Sasuke was sitting cross legged still next to Rin. "So that's when it happened." He said with a smile, "I figured he would do it in some cheesy way just like Naruto did." He chuckled to himself.

Rin put her hand on Sasuke's shoulder, "If you care about her Sasuke go fight for her."

Sasuke nodded and gave Rin a short hug but from Sasuke it was a big deal. "Thank you…" He paused for a moment before another smile crossed his face. "Big Sister Rin." With that he walked off leaving the Uchiha matriarch looking at the setting sun.


	51. Run Naruto Run

Naruto was standing alone in the training field he always liked to use. He looked around to make sure that no one else was around before placing his open hand on his stomach. He checked his surroundings one more time before twisting his hand, with a flourish the golden chakra covered his entire body again giving him a long cloak. He felt Kurama stir from the excess chakra used, he didn't know how to explain it but when he was like this he felt much closer to Kurama.

He bent his legs and lunged forward to test his speed, he had intended only to jump a few feet but he found himself hurling straight into a tree and going through it like it were paper. He got to his feet and looked around at all the splinters around him and the now fallen tree, he checked himself because there was no way that after that he had no injuries.

Getting back to his feet he started to perform his usual training exercises finding even the more exhausting ones to be completed effortlessly he decided to up the ante a bit. He looked off in the distance and did the same behind him. Behind him he could see the rest of the village and past that the Hokage monument. In the distance in front of him he saw nothing but trees, he had no real way to gauge it so he charged ahead through the trees breaking every branch he landed on.

After a minute of running he turned around and saw that he had to have just moved five miles away from the village. He bent his legs to run, this time he was going to move as fast as he could and get past the Hokage monument. He would've landed on one of the heads to make a point but he felt like if he did that he would damage it.

He readied himself and charged forward, he could barely make out the trees around him as he ran faster and faster, he saw that he was near the village now, at this point he had not thought everything through, he turned before reaching the gate and ran by the wall until he hit the side of the mountain with a leap he landed on the rock creating a crater where he landed, with a push he continued his way up the side of the mountain, when he reached the end of his climb up his body continued to move upward, he reached his arm out and saw that the chakra covering it extended farther and grabbed the ground. He pulled himself down and continued to run.

It only took him a few moments beyond that to reach the Hokage's heads and after making it there he skidded to a stop and turned to the village with a smile. He loved this feeling and didn't want it to end. Using the extra sensory powers, he had gained from Kurama he found where Sakura was, she was walking to the Uchiha district probably looking for him. He hadn't really even been home since he got out of the hospital, he figured that was because his home had been destroyed in the attack.

The chakra cloak decapitated and he rubbed his hands over the pocket that held his father's journal. "If only you could see me now dad." Naruto said looking down at the stone carving of his father, Naruto pulled out one of his Hirashin kunai and threw it in the distance, he counted to two and teleported to it.

XXXX

Obito was sitting in his office having a staring contest with the mountain of paperwork he had to go through. His secretary walked into the room holding another stack of papers. "Here you go Lord Hokage." She said respectfully with a bow.

"That's where they get you." Obito said grabbing his pen and a piece of paper.

"I'm sorry?" She said in a confused tone.

"The Hokage position." Obito said gesturing to the room. "It's made out to be this glorious job that so few have the privilege of doing. But the reality is that it's a trick to get some over eager saps like myself to become paper pushers." He said with a loud ugh as his head hit the desk.

"So should I bring the rest in now or later?" She asked pointing behind herself. Obito looked up at her with a petrified look in his eyes. "Later works for me." She said with a final bow as she left the room.

XXXX

Sakura was smiling as she entered the Uchiha compound, when she was younger this was a place that terrified her because of what had happened. But now she smiled every time she came because her favorite people in the world live here. She was about to knock on the door to the main house when she heard something hit the grass behind her. She turned around and saw the Hirashin kunai firmly planted in the ground and a moment later Naruto appeared next to it. "You know most people walk." She said crossing her arms at the blond.

Naruto stood up with a smile, "Already went for a run this morning."

Sakura laughed at the goof she had fallen in love with. She dug around her pocket and pulled out a tiny keychain with the leaf symbol on it. "Here." She said tossing it to the blond who caught it.

Naruto looked at it confused, he saw that a single key was on the keychain. "What's this?"

"Move in with me." Sakura said smiling at the now dumbstruck blond.

Naruto looked at Sakura, then at the key, back to her and the key one final time before grabbing onto Sakura and kissing her. After a passionate kiss that made his heart skip a beat Naruto smiled at the pinkette. "I'd love to." He said with a smile.

XXXX

Sasuke was sitting on a tree branch watching Hinata go through her katas. He noticed they weren't the usual Hyuuga movements but the hybrid she had worked out between her own family style and his own. "If you're just going to stand up there all day I'm just going to leave." She said after finishing the movements.

With a sigh Sasuke dropped from the branch and started to walk over to the cross armed heiress who was scowling at him with his hands in his pockets. "Hey." Sasuke said simply to the girl who grit her teeth at his simple greeting.

"I actually have things to do Uchiha, so if you could just speed this up that would be great." She said still glaring.

Sasuke looked up at the sky for a moment noticing that it had to be about midday he let out a breath. "I'm sorry." He said avoiding eye contact.

Hinata let her arms drop and watched the movements of the Uchiha, it was clear he was uncomfortable but didn't want to show it. "I suppose I could let you off the hook, just try and cut the moody attitude, it doesn't suit you." She said walking past him. "We're going to dinner and this time I'm paying." She said.

Sasuke turned, "Why are you paying?"

"Cause while you acted like an emo punk I acted like a total bitch." She said as she started walking again.

XXXX

Obito came into the house and smelled dinner cooking. It smelled like pork so he smiled when he came into the kitchen and saw little Kakashi in his high chair eating from a bowl of mushed carrots. "Hey babe." Obito said coming behind Rin and kissing her cheek while wrapping his arms around her belly.

"Why hello their Lord Hokage." Rin said sarcastically. Before turning to her husband and planting a quick kiss on his lips.

"Why Lady Uchiha if your husband saw us he would surely kill me without a thought." Obito said back jokingly.

Rin smiled, "Probably not. Between you and me he's a bit of a softie."

Obito furrowed his brow, "Why'd you have to go and ruin the game like that?" He continued to hold her in his arms just enjoying feeling close to her.

Rin continued to cook not bothered by her husband holding her tightly like he was. "So Sakura asked Naruto to move in with her."

Obito smiled, "I'm happy for them. Soon it will be just the two of them and then they will adopt their own little orphan." He said with a chuckle.

Rin tasted the food and grinned, "By that logic it would be ours and I don't plan on going anywhere on little Kakashi."

Obito chuckled, "I'm going to go change into something a bit more comfortable. Minato Sensei really had the right idea when he asked for his cloak to just be a big jacket."

"We both know Kushina hated that thing and I wouldn't let yours be like that either." Rin said pointing her wooden spoon at the smiling Hokage.


	52. The True Reason

Obito was sitting at his desk looking at the three ninjas in front of him. He was the Hokage now so he could no longer see them as just his students, especially because two of them were Chunin and the others rank was yet to be decided. "Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura. I am reestablishing your team officially." He said stamping a piece of paper.

Naruto was grinning from ear to ear happy to be back to work with his team again.

Sasuke was standing stiff still unsure of what his role was going to be in the village. He had gained the Mangekyo Sharingan and had been forbidden from using its power so he would not go blind. Rin was looking into a method to transfer Itachi's eyes to him so that he would not have to worry about that but he was still forbidden from using his new-found power. As was Naruto, half the village had frozen in fear when he was just playing around with the Kyuubi's chakra during his training.

Sakura had a simple question. "Lord Hokage, who's the team leader?" She knew that Sasuke had the right mind set but his rank was the issue with that. She didn't feel she was qualified to lead two of the strongest ninjas in the village and Naruto, well he was Naruto.

Obito smiled, "When It's just us you can still call me sensei. As for a team leader, I've decided to rotate team leaders from mission to mission." They all nodded in understanding. "For the first mission," He peaked at the piece of paper. "Sakura is team leader. For a B rank delivery mission."

"Why is a delivery mission B rank?" Sasuke asked.

"Because you are delivering it to the Land of Lightning's border where another team of ninja will be waiting to take the package the rest of the way." Obito said handing the mission file to Sakura. "Now Sakura I need you to keep them in line remember you are in charge." He was saying this partially for her benefit but mainly so the boys remembered.

With a nod they all left the room. Obito leaned back in his seat and let out a loud breath when he looked at the mountain of never ending paperwork. After getting tired of the Hokage robes he had been wearing he elected to not where them for everyday use like Tsunade did. So he was wearing his Uchiha head outfit. After battling Danzo in it he had discovered that it was insanely comfortable.

XXXX

The newly reformed Team 7 was waiting by the gate double checking their gear when Sakura spoke up, "Alright on our way to Lightning we will be crossing through Hot water as well as Frost so we need to be prepared just in case we are attacked. Normally a medic would be placed at the back of a squad but because of the way the two of you fight we're going to have Sasuke in the front watching the terrain with his Sharingan." Sasuke nodded activating his dojutsu.

Sakura continued, "Naruto you will take up the rear because you're not only the loudest of us but you have a talent for taking a beating." Naruto stuck his tongue out at his girlfriend who smiled. "And I will be in the middle prepared to aid either of you should things go south."

Both ninjas nodded understanding her logic and ready to move out. "Alright team!" Naruto shouted. "Let's go!" He screamed to the distance ahead.

Sakura rubbed the bridge of her nose, "I'm supposed to be the one saying that baka."

XXXX

Rin was pouring over every scroll she had about the Mangekyo Sharingan. Unfortunately it seems that Madara was a very secretive person and it took someone with a Sharingan to decipher his writings. She knew Obito was very busy with being Hokage and that Sasuke was out of the village so she didn't have anyone with Uchiha blood who could look at it. She chuckled to herself when she remembered that little Kakashi was half Uchiha and would more than likely awaken it when he got older.

Then an idea hit her, the Mangekyo was feared by everyone so maybe their greatest rivals would have notes on the subject.

XXXX

Obito was bored out of his mind having signed at least a hundred documents that day he was ready for any kind of distraction when he heard a knock at his door. "Come in."

The door opened and Shikaku and his son both lazily walked into the room. "The chair suits you Obito. Minato would've been proud."

Obito smiled at the Nara. "Thank you Shikaku, I hope there are no hard feelings in my promotion."

Shikamaru chuckled to himself, "Please he's the one who put your name forward and pointed out the past two Hokage's had wanted to appoint you."

Obito's smile only grew because of how respected he had become. "What can I do for you two?"

Shikaku let out a tired breath. "We have reports of Sound ninjas again. They had mostly stopped after Sasuke Uchiha had reportedly killed Orochimaru but his reappearance must have bolstered his men into action again."

"What have they been doing?" Obito asked, he already knew that Orochimaru was going to cause more problems for the Leaf.

"It seems that they have been skirting our border and going to Rock. After that the trail goes cold." Shikaku said gruffly also worried about what this meant for the Land of Fire.

Obito let out a breath, "Alright thank you for letting me know. Was there anything else?"

Both Nara's shook their head no and left without another word. Obito knew it was going to happen he was just worried about it. He grabbed the next paper and quickly read it over. It was about the destruction or burial of the three scrolls that held the bodies of Team Jiraiya. Right as Obito was about to sign to have them buried he stopped when he reread it and noticed it said only three bodies.

XXXX

Obito was walking through the intel division when he came to the room he knew held the scrolls. It had the tightest security in a building designed to hold secrets, it was believed to be impenetrable; at least that is what he kept telling himself. He walked up to the person at a desk who was working on some gauntlet that he didn't understand. "I need to see the scrolls containing Team Jiraiya."

The man jumped in his chair when he turned and his eyes went wide with shock at seeing the Hokage in front of him. "Yes Lord Hokage." He said running off to grab the proper scrolls.

Obito waited behind looking at the gauntlet. It didn't seem to have any protective purposes so why build it? Before he had the chance to figure it out the man brought Obito a box and put it on the table he then laid out the scrolls one at a time. "There should be four." Obito said.

He opened the scrolls and he saw Jiraiya's, Yahiko's, and Konan's. He began to panic when he realized that it was Nagato's scroll that was missing. "I need to talk to everyone who has ever been in contact with these scrolls right now!" Obito yelled grabbing the man's shoulders.

"Yes Lord Hokage." He said before checking the records and gathering the names.

Obito looked at all the names of the people. "I need to speak with all of them, I want them in this room now." Obito said in his angriest voice. He quickly made a hand sign and an Anbu landed in front of Obito scaring the scientist. "I need you to assemble the council for an emergency meeting."

With a nod the brown haired Anbu ran out of the room as quickly as he could.

XXXX

Obito had spoken to all the people who had even so much as touched the scrolls and got what little information he could and now he was sitting in the council meeting rooms. For the first time since the village had been founded both the Senju and the Uchiha chairs were empty. He had wanted to get Rin to sit in the Uchiha place but couldn't find her.

"What is the purpose of the meeting Lord Hokage?" Hiashi asked seeing the clear signs of nervousness plaguing the Hokage.

"It seems that a very important sealing scroll is missing." Obito said seeing that most of the room was still uninterested. "This scroll contained the body of Nagato Uzumaki the man who lead the attack against Hanzo the Salamander and who killed Jiraiya."

Hearing that this man was capable of killing Jiraiya got the interest of most of them. "It had been agreed upon that Nagato's unique abilities would not be widely known by anyone in the Leaf village and that unfortunately included most of the members of the council. The ones who did know myself included are either dead or incapacitated."

"What abilities did he have that make him so powerful?" Inoichi asked starting to feel just as nervous as the Hokage clearly was.

"Nagato Uzumaki possessed the Rinnegan." He said it clearly so that everyone could hear. The air in the room seemed to drop ten degrees in mere moments.

Shikaku immediately started to think of what could've happened to the scrolls, the obvious thing to think was that Orochimaru had taken them but the thought of that made even his mind start to race from fear.

"I will just say what we are all thinking." Choza said loudly to the room. "Danzo's attack on the Leaf was planned with enough precision to keep most of us busy while a select few could battle him. Namely Sasuke Uchiha who had Orochimaru sealed inside of himself."

Shikaku let out a breath, "The entire purpose of the attack wasn't just to release Orochimaru, it was also to distract everyone while Nagato's body was stolen."

Obito nodded seeing that others in the room had been thinking the same thing as him. "What do we do now?" Hiashi asked. He was even starting to sweat from the nervousness he was feeling.

Obito knew that question was coming but had no idea what to do next when an Anbu landed beside him with a piece of paper. Obito cautiously took the note and saw the symbol of the Tsuchikage sealing the letter. He opened it and immediately dropped it onto the desk.

"What is it?" Shikaku said worried. Obito slid the note over to the Jonin commander who read it. "Damn." Was all he said as he passed the note to Inoichi.

"What does it say?" Shibi Aburame asked.

Obito stood at the table and looked everyone in the room in the eyes. "It says that they are declaring war."


	53. Thunder and Lightning

Naruto was sitting on a tree branch eating a sandwich he had made himself for the trip. Sasuke was eating his rice and Sakura had an apple. He happily snacked on his food while they walked when Sasuke stopped moving and put his hand on his sword. "We aren't alone."

Naruto looked from side to side not sure what to expect. He wanted to activate his chakra mode but he had been told not to unless he absolutely needed to. He heard the footsteps come from behind him before he saw it coming.

Sakura reached out to stop the attack but Naruto had already been tackled to the ground in the blink of an eye Sasuke already had his sword on the attacker's neck.

Naruto smiled when he saw who had tackled him to the ground. They patted his cheek, "Come on nine even if grim over here actually killed me, I would've gotten you first."

Sakura was confused the blonde woman was still on top of Naruto clearly holding him down and Sasuke had not relaxed his sword arm still ready to take her head off.

"If you're going to use that tooth pick than use it." Said another voice behind Sasuke. This time a woman with red hair was holding a sword to his back.

Sakura was about to pounce on that woman when she realized a man with dark skin and pale hair had a sword on her as well. "You know Yugito, when you tackled Naruto and his friend got into position he could've tried to kill you, leading to a bloody war between our villages that would only end when everyone on both sides was dead."

Yugito relented and let Naruto go and stood up once the sword was taken away from her neck. "Calm down Karui, and Omoi you make it sound like I could be killed that easily."

Naruto stood up and excitedly hugged Yugito. "I missed you Two!" The blond excitedly shouted.

Sasuke noticed the less than happy face Sakura was making at Naruto hugging an admittedly pretty woman. "Who's your friend dobe?" Sasuke asked.

"Yugito, this is Sasuke." She shook his hand and glared at the Uchiha. "And this is Sakura." She didn't shake Sakura's hand, instead she looked her up and down.

"I take it that you've been keeping Nine in line than?" She asked the pinkette.

Sakura matched the glare, "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Oh no Yugito you may have just ruined Naruto's chance at happiness." Omoi said to the blond. "Now she's going to think he's a total creep and he will grow old and alone, the Nine Tails will feed on his bitter heart and will be released laying waste to village after village."

Karui punched the top of his head, "Shut up!"

Sakura looked back to the older blond in front of her. "If you mean I make sure my boyfriend doesn't do anything stupid than yes." She put extra emphasis on the word boyfriend.

Yugito held her hand out and Karui put some money in it. "Told you he'd have the balls." She said to the red head.

"You bet on me?" Naruto shouted at the woman.

"Figured it was easy money." She shrugged. She turned to Sasuke. "So you're the one who put my Nine in the hospital."

Sasuke grit his teeth, "What of it?" Naruto was looking back and forth he saw the look they both had in their eyes and he knew what it meant.

"If you guys are going to fight than just get it over with." Naruto said to them.

"But if Yugito fights an Uchiha and they go all out than she will need to use the power of the Two Tails and it will level this entire forest." Omoi said to the group.

Karui hit him again. "Matatabi is supposed to be a secret!" She shouted at the white-haired boy rubbing the top of his head.

Sasuke let out a breath. "Paranoid has a point, don't want the forest leveled."

Yugito grinned at the Uchiha. "Matatabi said the Uchiha were a bunch of cowards."

Sasuke grinned, "Oh don't worry kitty we're going to fight."

Naruto turned to Sakura. "Did Sasuke just make a joke?"

Sakura nodded her head, "I think he did. But do you really think them fighting is a good idea?"

Naruto waved it off. "Out of all of us Yugito is the most level headed." Sakura turned her head confused. "Jinchuuriki." Naruto added with his normal big smile.

XXXX

Obito was sitting in his home trying to hold back the panic. War had been declared on his village within months of him being named Hokage and he didn't know what to do about it. The news was supposed to be kept between only the members of the council but he had decided he was going to tell Rin just so he had someone to talk to about everything.

"I'm home Kakashi." Rin said entering the house with Kakashi strapped to her belly and a few scrolls under her arm.

"In the living room babe." Obito said still unsure of what to do.

Rin poked her head in the room. "What's wrong?" She asked looking her husband up and down checking for injuries first.

"You can tell something is bothering me just from my voice?" Obito asked shocked.

Rin sat across from her husband and gave him a reassuring smile. "Of course I can, even when we were on the same team I could tell then."

Obito let out a breath and used Kamui to open a small hole that he reached into and pulled out the scroll. "This is a scroll sent from the Tsuchikage that is an official declaration of war."

Rin held Kakashi tighter in her arms. "When did this happen?"

Obito's shoulders slumped, "We received the letter today at a council meeting. And Nagato's body is missing."

If Rin wasn't scared before now she was petrified. "Does that mean that he is those eyes?" She knew the monster that Orochimaru was. She didn't hate anyone but if she had to choose someone it would be him.

"That's what we all think." Obito said, "The attack on the village was all a distraction to keep the strongest ninjas away from where we had the body stored."

Rin got up and sat beside Obito. "We'll get through this." She said holding his arm.

Obito leaned his head onto his wife's shoulder. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do here."

"The same thing you've been doing ever since I met you." Rin said, "Keep pushing forward until things go your way and if they don't work to make sure they do next time."

Obito gently grabbed Rin's chin and turned her head to face him. "I love you." He kissed her gently.

"Do you want me to put Kakashi in for a nap?" She asked.

Obito nodded his head quickly. "That would be awesome."

XXXX

The Raikage was rubbing his head, once again the jinchuuriki for the Nine Tails was standing in front of him with a big goofy grin on his face. "So this letter asks for the Cloud to form an alliance with the Leaf in time of war?"

Sakura nodded, "Knowing that our jinchuuriki and yours are friends it would be best if we all worked together."

Naruto crossed his arms, "We have names Sakura."

Sasuke elbowed Naruto in the side before the Raikage spoke again. "So the Leaf wants our help should war happen, after the recent attack made by your own former ninjas you would be weak. I don't like helping those that are weak."

An idea popped into Naruto's mind. "What if we proved we were strong."

Ay looked at the boy wondering where he was going with this. "And how would you do that Uzumaki?"

Naruto smiled. "My team fights people of your choosing."

Sakura was about to hit the blond for suggesting something so crazy when the Hokage loudly shouted, "Agreed. If I think that you all have the strength to be worthy of being considered our comrades than I will sign the agreement."

Sakura was stammering trying to wonder when exactly she lost control of the mission when Yugito spoke up. "If I may Lord Raikage I wish to be the one to face Sasuke Uchiha in combat."

Ay smiled, "Sounds good. The first fight will be between the Cloud's Yugito Nii and the Leaf Village's Sasuke Uchiha!"

XXXX

Sakura was staring out in shock, she still didn't know how this all happened but she had a feeling it was because of the loud blond next to her.

Naruto was cheering as Yugito and Sasuke walked to the ring. They were using the space the Cloud always used during their Chunin exams finals for this exhibition fights. "Isn't this awesome Sakura?" Naruto said putting his arm around the pinkette.

"Somehow this was a simple delivery mission that you turned into a bet." Sakura said rubbing her face. "And I was the one trained by the compulsive gambler, why can't you just peak on women? At least if you did that I could hit you for it."

Naruto pulled his arm back and took a few steps away from the clearly very angry Sakura.

Sasuke was looking ahead at the bored looking Yugito. "You can still back out little boy." Yugito said as she checked her nails.

Sasuke put his hands on the hilt of his sword. "Not a chance kitty."

The ref started the match and Sasuke had to react quickly to Yugito charging straight for him. After regaining his composure, he let go of his sword that was still in its sheath and did a series of hand signs. Lightning started to form on his hand and then shape into very small bits of lightning that he threw at the catlike woman who contorted around the attacks.

"Using lightning on a girl raised fighting lightning users is kind of dumb." Yugito bent down and charged the Uchiha who slid to the side out of the way before immediately charging ahead at her. He swung his sword at her body but found his sword embedded in a log.

Yugito grinned from a distance at the frustrated boy. "If you want to give up just say so."

With a chuckle Sasuke turned to look at Yugito who was shocked at what she saw. His Sharingan now looked like a red flower, she only had a moment to realize the black fire that was approaching her would kill her. She jumped into the air and pulled the chakra from her tenant.

Sasuke smiled as Yugito was falling she began to grow larger and larger until she took the shape of a gigantic cat made of blue fire. Matatabi swung its massive paw at Sasuke but felt it hit something hard.

"Susanoo really is powerful." Sasuke said as he moved his hands away from his eyes as the purple skeleton began to form larger and larger until it was a massive torso and head that stood at eye level with the cat.

A shroud came over the growing muscle structure of the purple construct. "Now this is a fight!" Sasuke shouted as the Susanoo punched Matatabi in the face with a boom that made most of the spectators jump.

Matatabi jumped away and opened its mouth and a black ball began to form in its mouth. Sasuke's Susanoo pulled back a bow that was attached to its arm. Both attacks were fired at the same time and met in the middle as an explosion.

Matatabi and the Susanoo faded at the same time leaving the two fighters left out of breath and exhausted. Yugito fell to the ground and shortly after so did Sasuke.

Naruto jumped up and cheered. "Sasuke won!" He was the only one in the audience to make a noise.

XXXX

Sakura was positive she was going to hit Naruto for this. She was standing in the ring now across from a very bored looking man with dark skin and white hair.

The Raikage spoke, "Our next fight will be between Darui of the Hidden Cloud against Sakura Haruno of the Hidden Leaf!"

Sakura was watching the man in front of her who looked just as uninterested as she was annoyed.

The ref gave the signal for both ninjas to attack. Darui lazily grabbed his sword off his back and turned to Sakura. "I hope this doesn't go on for too long."

Sakura knew his personality seemed familiar. This guy was basically Shikamaru, that thought didn't make her feel any better. She knew that she was smart but Shikamaru was one of the smartest men in the village if not the smartest.

Sakura pulled her gloves on tighter figuring that either way she was stuck in this fight she might as well make it exciting. Without another thought she slammed her fist into the ground making the stadium unstable. When she looked up Darui was gone.

"Up here." Was all he said as he came down to strike her with his sword. Sakura quickly spun out of the way and charged, all she needed was one solid punch and the fight would be over.

Darui let out an exhausted sigh, the lightning began to form around his sword and quickly turned black, right as Sakura was about to strike he turned out of the way and swung his sword hitting her in the side with the flat part of the blade.

Sakura screamed as she felt all of the lightning course through her body. After it stopped she tried to remain standing. Darui was again looking at her bored. "If you just fall down this will be over."

Sakura kept walking forward still stuck on the idea that she just needed one good punch and she would win. "I'm not going to give up when I know my friends have given their all."

"Enough!" Ay shouted. "This fight is over and Darui is the winner. I have seen enough."

Naruto jumped down to the ring to hold onto Sakura to make sure that she didn't get any more hurt. "I still have to fight!" Naruto yelled to the large Kage.

Ay grinned, "Fine Naruto Uzumaki will fight Killer Bee!"

"No!" Naruto shouted. "I don't want to fight jinchuuriki."

"So you give up?"

"No I challenge you The Fourth Raikage to personal combat!" Naruto shouted as Sakura lost consciousness in his arms.

The massive Raikage landed on the field next to Darui who he handed his coat to. "Do you really want to fight him?" Darui asked the larger man.

"If the boy wants to fight them I'll give him a fight."

Sasuke landed next to Naruto. "Let me take her." He put one of her arms around himself and took the weight off Naruto.

"If things get really bad get her out of here Sasuke." Naruto said making eye contact with the Uchiha.

Sasuke nodded understanding what Naruto had meant. If this went far enough Naruto was going to go all out to win the alliance.

Ay looked at Naruto, "So whenever you're ready."

Naruto reached into his pouch and grabbed one of his Hirashin kunai and threw it past the Raikage who tilted his head out of the way. Naruto threw another one marking each compass direction so he had one at North, East, South and West.

Ay looked at the kunai that he had thrown and smiled. "So I was right in your parentage I take it." He shouted to the blond who bent down in a combat stance.

Not needing a bigger invitation Ay charged at the blond who jumped over the Raikage but was grabbed by his feet and slammed into the ground. "You may be his son, but you're no Yellow Flash." He said to the boy laying on his back in the rubble right before he poofed out of existence. "Shadow clone!" He shouted looking around the field trying to find the real Naruto.

Naruto laughed as he landed behind the Raikage with a Rasengan in hand, "Got you!" Naruto shouted as he was about to hit the Kage. He saw a flicker and the Raikage was gone. Naruto was flying through the air before the pain set in as he skid on the ground.

Naruto stood up holding his rapidly healing side, "Man you're pretty fast for someone your age." Naruto said chuckling to himself.

Ay looked at the blond unamused. "So that's why the Leaf has fallen so much. The son of one of their greatest warriors does nothing but makes jokes, I'd hate to see what the rest of them are like."

Naruto clicked his neck and threw as many kunai as he could until it looked like the stadium was covered in them. "Let's really see who's faster now!" Naruto shouted before flashing away and reappearing behind the Raikage with another Rasengan.

"Same move." The Raikage said before jumping out of the way and landing right behind the blond who was still attacking the same spot and as he was about to strike him the same way Naruto blinked away again.

Ay looked around until he heard the swirling chakra right by his ear. The attack landed on his shoulder and forced him to the ground.

Naruto landed on his feet and looked at the Raikage. "How's that for a joke? I thought it was pretty funny."

Ay stood up from the ground cracking his neck. "It's not enough. Back when I fought your father it may have been that easy but not anymore." His body became surrounded by lightning chakra that sparked all around him. "Now I show you why I'm the Raikage boy!"

What happened next Naruto would describe as the worst beating he had ever received, he would swear that every part of his body had either been punched or kicked at least once and some places much more than that.

Sakura woke up seeing Naruto getting beat on like he was she couldn't take it. "Naruto use Kurama!" She shouted as she felt herself get light headed again as Sasuke held her steady his eyes not leaving the battle.

Naruto slowly stood to his feet. "Finally I can fight for real." He said causing the Raikage to tilt his head. Naruto put his hand on his palm and quickly twisted it releasing his chakra cloak.

Ay smiled. "So now that you're shiny you think you can keep up?" He asked the now glowing boy.

Naruto felt all the wounds he had suffered were already healed. "Can't hurt to try." He said shrugging his shoulders.

Ay and Naruto charged at one another meeting in the middle when their fists collided causing a shock wave to emanate from the impact. "So this is the power of the Kyuubi."

Naruto grinned until he saw the Raikage's leg swinging for his head Naruto ducked under the blow and ran away to get some distance but the Raikage was following.

Sakura's mouth was hanging open; she knew Naruto was strong when he used Kurama's power but she had no idea it was like this. She thought using his full body like he had against Orochimaru was impressive now he was moving around so fast that her eyes couldn't even follow their fight. "Sasuke can you tell what's happening?"

Sasuke was just as shocked he saw every move that both fighters made and it scared him. He saw the level Naruto was now on with the power of Kyuubi and he wondered if he would ever achieve that. "Only just. Neither of them are able to land a solid blow, every strike is either dodged or blocked."

Naruto and Ay stopped in the middle of the ring neither showing any signs of exhaustion. "You know I had made up my decision either way after watching your little girlfriend fight to stay on her feet after she had been beaten by Darui. Nothing that happens here will change my mind."

Naruto glared ahead with his now orange slitted eyes. "That doesn't matter. I still wanted to check your strength against my own. Sakura and Sasuke did their best so I had to do the same."

Ay let the lightning around his body dissipate. "That's enough our fight is over."

Naruto nodded as his chakra cloak disappeared. "Thank you Kurama." Naruto said quietly to himself.

The Raikage walked up to the blond staring at him with hard eyes. "You know that you're crazy, right?" He asked. Naruto nodded his head not breaking eye contact.

The Raikage extended his hand out to Naruto. "Now we shake as allies."

"What?" Naruto asked confused. "I thought you said you made up your mind after Sakura fought."

Ay nodded, "That's exactly what I said. Her determination to not give up was inspiring if even half of the Leaf has her determination you won't even need us should war come. And fighting with you showed me that the legacy of Minato Namikaze was going to be an amazing ninja."

Naruto smiled putting his hand in the massive hand of the Raikage. "I look forward to fighting alongside you Naruto Uzumaki."


	54. It Begins

Ay was sitting in his office looking at the letter he had received when his door opened and his brother Bee walked in. "Hey bro, it ain't like you to be so low. "What's eating ya?"

Ay looked at his brother, the Leaf is already at war. The Tsuchikage sent the declaration after Naruto and his team left the village they didn't plan to pull us into a war this quickly."

Bee cocked his head cleaning out his ear, "It's something about nine-o Naruto ain't it?"

Ay smiled, "When we were fighting at full speed and he had his chakra cloak he was smiling the entire time. That boy held back on me and I want to see just what he can really do."

XXXX

Team 7 was bouncing through the forest nearly home after the long journey from the Cloud prepared to report that they secured the alliance. Sakura was less than looking forward to saying it happened because they fought Cloud ninjas including the Raikage.

Sasuke was still scanning his environment not wanting to be caught off guard. They were nearly back to the Land of Fire; and he wouldn't relax until they were there.

Naruto was running his fight through his head, his skill with the Hirashin wasn't enough to keep up with the Raikage, he was wondering if there was something to the technique he was missing; maybe Obito would know.

XXXX

Obito was looking over the papers he had on his ninjas, he didn't think he had the numbers to actually fight in a war and keep the village protected. Another issue he was facing was whether or not he would be best on the battlefield or at home to protect the village. He was more than aware that he was one of the strongest ninjas in the world due in large part to his mangekyo.

The door opened and a tired looking Tsunade came in the room. She looked at him at the desk working on her most hated enemy the paper work. "Finally." She said as she went to a book shelf and pulled out a bottle she had hidden in a false book. "So how deep are we in shit?" She asked sitting down across from Obito and taking a drink.

"Stone has declared war and is more than likely working with Orochimaru who has Nagato's body." Obito said not looking up from the file in his hand.

"Ok that's the bad." She said leaning back, "What do we have going for us?"

"A potential alliance with the Cloud, a fairly solid alliance with the Sand thanks to their new Kazekage, giving our force a total of four jinchuuriki."

"Five." Tsunade said, "You can't tell me that Rin doesn't want to help."

"She retired when we got Naruto." Obito said eyeing the woman.

"That was all before war began. Not only is she one of the best medics in the world she is one of two people to have the strength of a hundred seal on their forehead." She said victoriously pointing to her forehead.

"Five jinchuuriki of which we only know two are stable and we aren't fully sure of Naruto's abilities. He fought Shukaku years ago using a lot of its power and didn't maintain control afterwards." Obito said pulling out the file on Naruto. "I hate to say it but if Sasuke has the Eternal Mangekyo we may stand a chance. I've read the reports on what Madara was able to do with that kind of power."

Tsunade nodded, "Rin has been working on figuring out a way to work out the problem she just needs to you to translate this." She said handing Obito a scroll.

"Transplant Itachi's eyes into Sasuke and you'll be good to go." Obito said handing the scroll back.

Tsunade took the scroll and stood up. "You've got this Obito. Hell, you were trained for this job ever since you were a genin. Relax and be yourself that's how you got the job in the first place."

XXXX

Naruto happily walked through the village gates looking around at all the reconstruction still going on. "Let's go see Obito and give him our report."

Too tired to point out that it was her job Sakura nodded and followed the blond to the Hokage mansion.

Sasuke silently followed his team finally letting his Sharingan deactivate and he realized that his vision was starting to get fuzzy and he had a headache. He just kept his eyes on the bright colored hair of his teammates.

XXXX

Naruto walked into the office without knocking. "We're back Obito!" Naruto shouted smiling when he saw a familiar face sitting in a chair.

"Hello Naruto." Gaara said plainly to the blond.

"Gaara!" Naruto shouted bringing the laid back red head into a hug that made him very uncomfortable. "How have you been, I haven't seen you since I was in Sand last."

Gaara had a faint smile on his face, "I've been well Naruto. I was just speaking to your Hokage on our alliance during this war time."

Sasuke and Sakura immediately turned to look at Obito who was rubbing the bridge of his nose. "They didn't know Lord Kazekage."

"Kazekage?" Sasuke asked bewildered at the turn of events. "What war?"

"The Stone declared war on us shortly after you departed to speak with the Raikage, we are still waiting to hear back from them on the treaty." Obito said.

Naruto smiled and pulled a small scroll out of his weapons pouch, "Not a problem. After I fought the Raikage he agreed to an alliance."

Obito calmly looked at Gaara. "Lord Kazekage I'm sorry but could you give me a minute alone with my ninja?" Gaara nodded slightly before standing up and leaving the room. After the door closed Obito stood from his desk and looked at each of them. "What the fuck does he mean? Did he fight the Raikage?"

Naruto happily nodded his head but before he could speak Sakura did. "The Raikage wasn't interested in our arrangement so Naruto challenged the Raikage to pick ninjas to have each of us fight. Sasuke fought the jinchuuriki of the Two Tails, and I fought a student of the Third Raikage. Naruto challenged the Raikage personally to battle one on one. It only took a few moments into the fight for him to figure out Naruto's parentage and he fought as if he was fighting the yellow flash."

Obito could feel his headache coming back. "So I take it that the Cloud has refused our offer."

"No, the opposite in fact." Sasuke said. "Sakura and Naruto's bravery convinced the Raikage that we were worth fighting alongside."

Obito held back the smile of pride he was feeling at his former students being complimented by a Kage. "Well with the war on the horizon I don't imagine the three of you will be leaving the village again unless it is for the war so stay ready. And Sasuke Rin and Tsunade are ready for you at the hospital, I can already see you're losing your eye sight."

Sakura turned on the Uchiha quickly, "I told you, you shouldn't use the Mangekyo against Yugito but you did it anyway. At least Naruto waited until I told him to use Kurama."

Obito looked at the boys. "I thought I told you not to use those abilities."

Naruto smiled and put his arm around Sasuke. "Don't worry about it…" He was cut off by him using Hirashin to exit the room.

"Good luck Sakura." Obito said leaning back in his chair.


	55. A Lesson From the Past

Naruto was sitting in his and Sakura's apartment and he felt the realization that war was coming fall on him. After the attack on the Leaf from Danzo he didn't know how to think about everything that was happening. They would be fighting the Rock and more than likely the Sound in a war. They had the Sand and Cloud on their side which left the Mist as a wild card. He had only travelled their once when he was searching for their tailed beasts but both were missing. He met Saiken and his jinchuuriki later and found that Rin had Isobu.

He knew jinchuuriki were strong and he hated the idea of having to fight someone else like him. Roshi and Han were some of the strongest jinchuuriki just based on their power alone, not including the power of Son and Kokuo.

Sakura came out of the bathroom and saw Naruto leaning back in a chair, "Oh no you're thinking."

Naruto sat up and looked at his hands. "We're going to war Sakura, what does that mean?"

Sakura hated to see Naruto like this, normally he was an incredibly cheerful and excited person but every now and then she could see the scared sixteen-year-old beneath. "Talk to me Naruto." She said sitting in the chair next to his.

"What if I'm not ready for this? What if I lose someone?" He turned to her big green eyes. "What if I lose you?"

Sakura leaned forward and hugged him, "I'm not going anywhere baka." Naruto kissed the top of her head. "Believe it." Sakura said earning a laugh from Naruto.

XXXX

Sasuke was sitting in the hospital, he still had bandages over his eyes while his body got used to Itachi's eyes. He heard the door open and close, his old habits from being with the Sound for so long hadn't left him and he prepared himself to kill whoever was in the room.

"So how's my favorite patient?" Sasuke relaxed when he heard it was just Rin.

"How much longer do I need to keep these bandages on?" Sasuke asked gripping his bed sheets.

Rin looked through the chart. "No idea really, the concept was theoretical. We had heard legends of Madara doing it but didn't know how he did it."

Sasuke leaned back in the bed, "How's everyone handling the news?"

"How are you handling it?" Rin asked the Uchiha boy. "It's obvious that you're under more stress than you should be just from the surgery."

Sasuke grabbed the side of his head and yelled, "I don't know how I'm supposed to feel. I can feel it, everyone else is terrified; they don't know whether or not anyone will be here a year from now! But me I'm just sitting here waiting to get these damn bandages off, I feel nothing ok! No fear, no anxiety, I don't know why!"

Rin knew what he meant, from what she understood that's how a lot of the ninjas felt. They were so desensitized to violence that it had become second nature to them, and Sasuke spent three years with a mad man who had more than likely killed more people than anyone else in the land of fire.

She reached forward and grabbed Sasuke's hand and noticed that he flinched at first but relaxed after a moment. "I like to think I know you pretty well Sasuke, and one thing I have always thought about you since you were a little boy, you are very strong willed. It's not something that has always worked well for you but once you make up your mind and dedicate yourself to something you are willing to give everything for it."

Sasuke sniffed the air, "You always had a knack for getting me to tear up Rin." He said with a smile crossing his face.

"Wow you are some emotional people." Hinata said at the door crossing her arms. "Lady Rin." She said acknowledging the woman in the room.

"I'm going to leave you two alone. It was nice seeing you Hinata." Rin said as she left the room.

Hinata sat in the seat Rin had been in. "So what did you do this time?"

Sasuke turned his head away from her. "I'm sorry but I can't say."

Hinata shrugged, "Lady Rin didn't seem that worried so I assume you aren't dying, besides you aren't allowed to die until you help me kick Kabuto's ass."

Sasuke chuckled, "You just might get the opportunity once this war starts. I doubt that Orochimaru won't have Kabuto on the battlefield." He relaxed in his bed. "How are the rest of the Hyuuga handling it?"

Hinata smirked at the boy in the bed. "Oh so your Uchiha stuff is a secret but you can ask about Hyuuga business?"

"Duh." Sasuke said.

"Father isn't sure what to do. He has more trust in Lord Obito than he's had an a Hokage for a long time. The Hyuuga elders say he's soft by willing to work so much with the Uchiha."

"I doubt the Uchiha elders would've been thrilled with it either." Sasuke said placing his hand on the bandages. With a sigh, he started to unwrap the bandages.

Hinata cocked her eyebrows at the curious Uchiha she felt herself skip a beat when she saw his eyes though. They seemed to be red flowers with a black shuriken in the center.

"So, how do they look?" He asked with a cocky smirk at his speechless girlfriend.

"Show off." Hinata said leaning back in her chair and getting comfortable.

XXXX

Naruto walked into Obito and Rin's new house in the center of the Uchiha district, he saw that the room was laid out very similar to how the old house was. "Obito are you home?" Naruto asked having already gone to the Hokage office. He didn't hear anything so he made himself comfortable on the couch and pulled out his father's journal again this time he decided to read on of his earlier entries.

XXXX

 _Minato was standing in the office of the Third Hokage. "You wanted to see me sir." Minato said to the older man._

 _Hiruzen looked up with a smile. "Yes Minato, I want you to take on a genin squad." He reached forward handing the blond jonin three files._

 _"_ _Sir if I can ask, why?" He asked still not looking at the files in his hand._

 _Sarutobi leaned forward on his desk. "Sadly you are the only member of your squad that has not retired and I want the lessons of the First Hokage that I passed along to Jiraiya who passed them on to you. It is a selfish decision I know but I choose those three for a very specific reason."_

 _Minato conceded and looked over the files. The first one he saw was for Kakashi Hatake, the son of the White Fang and a prodigy like his father before him. In big bold letters he read that Kakashi was not a team player. The next file said Rin Nohara, her grades involving anything medical or requiring her be smart she scored out of this world, her physical skills were lacking though._

 _The last name he had made him confused, he looked up to the Hokage. "Fugaku is going to throw a fit that you want an me to train an Uchiha."_

 _Sarutobi chuckled, "Fugaku asked for you personally to be the one to train Obito. He sees something in the boy that no one else does."_

 _Minato looked at the grades and saw that the only thing he scored highly on was ninjutsu. And in the margins he saw the notes about Obito be clumsy. "So what do you expect out of them?"_

 _Sarutobi leaned on his elbows and stared at the blond. "I expect them to change the world."_

 _XXXX_

 _Minato was sitting on the roof of the academy leaning on the railing and his three genin were all sitting on the steps looking at him to do something. Throwing caution to the wind he tossed their files to them. "Those are the files I was given on each of you. They clearly state your flaws and where you can improve"_

 _He watched each of them react to the criticism from their former teachers. Rin seemed to take it the best she nodded understanding the problems probably already aware of them. Obito seemed angry for the comments on his clumsiness._

 _But Kakashi seemed to ignore them all together and looked over his pros and ignored the glaring con that in Minato's mind made him the member of the squad that needed to improve the most. "My goal from here on out is to make it so nobody can say those things about any of you." Minato said proudly._

 _Kakashi tossed the file to the ground, "I don't see the problem sensei. I scored top of my class in all marks."_

 _Minato narrowed his eyes, "Rin Nohara a brilliant kunoichi on paper but lacking in combat skill. Obito Uchiha skilled with ninjutsu but accident prone and average most everything. Kakashi Hatake, graduated with perfect scores on every test but was found to refuse to work with anyone else and when he did he wouldn't use their skills in any way."_

 _Minato watched the silver haired boy, "Ninjas are put in squads for a reason Kakashi, and tomorrow I am going to teach all of you why that is."_

 _XXXX_

 _Minato was sitting in the trees he had started the bell test and already fought and beat Obito. He glanced over at the charred ground that had been left behind, "He really does have a knack for ninjutsu." Now Minato was waiting to hear from either of the other two. He knew Rin wasn't bold enough to challenge him on her own, but Kakashi he was more than likely waiting for the other two to both be incapacitated._

 _He heard a fireball hurling at him using his Hirashin he was easily able to dodge the attack, and he saw Obito jumping through the trees doing another set of hand signs and Minato began to jump from tree to tree dodging each fire ball heading his way. After landing he threw shuriken towards where he knew Obito was crouched._

 _He heard the Uchiha fall to the ground while dodging the shuriken. "You're out Obito." Minato said looking down at the boy who was rubbing his behind. He heard the snap of a rope and Rin giggle. He looked around and saw a massive log falling towards him. He dodged the log and looked down to see that Obito had disappeared._

 _He saw another massive fireball heading his way so he threw his Hirashin kunai through it and appeared behind the watching genin. "Well done you guys, almost had me there." He said with a smile._

 _"_ _Aw man!" Obito shouted smacking his forehead. "How did you move so fast?"_

 _Before Minato could reply he blocked a shuriken and saw that Kakashi was on the attack now. The two clashed blades a few times and Minato jumped over Kakashi and used his back as a springboard to get him farther away. When he landed, he didn't see the silver haired boy until the last moment when Kakashi kicked his sensei into a group of exploding tags._

 _Minato landed a distance away from the explosion and noticed he had lost track of Kakashi. Minato sensed for the seal he had used and found Kakashi hiding in the tree tops preparing some form of jutsu._

 _Kakashi stopped the chakra flow when he felt the cold steel against his neck. "You've lost Kakashi. You will never be able to beat me on your own."_

 _XXXX_

Naruto leaped up from the chair as Obito came into the house scaring the Hokage. "Naruto don't scare me like that." The Uchiha said.

Naruto jumped forward hugging the man, "I figured it out now Obito, I'll see you later!" He shouted running out the door.

Obito stood in the doorway dumbfounded and confused as to what just happened.


	56. Surprises in Store

Sasuke was getting his normal clothes back on so that he could leave the hospital, he really wanted to test the abilities of his mangekyo but he didn't know how he could. He was pretty sure that a giant purple humanoid would scare the village just as much as a giant yellow fox.

Speaking of fox Naruto came into the room. "Sasuke, we need to spar I figured it out."

The Uchiha looked at the blond for a moment. "Sure why not."

XXXX

Sasuke was doing a few stretches to get his tight muscles ready for the fight, both he and Naruto knew they weren't allowed to use their unique abilities especially inside of the village. Sasuke bent his knees and pulled out his sword Naruto just stood there with a cocky shit eating grin. "Ready whenever you are Sasuke!" He shouted.

Sasuke charged forward ready to smack the shit out of the cocky Uzumaki, but Naruto was ready for the strike and deflected the blade with a regular kunai which shocked Sasuke for a moment. Sasuke readied his sword to slice down but Naruto slipped to the side and palm struck Sasuke in the chest.

Sasuke backed away for a moment, "You don't have to pull your punches even though I just got out of the hospital."

Naruto nodded his head with his grin, "Good to know teme." He ran forward smacked the sword away and kicked Sasuke in the chest.

Sasuke slid back and stopped his momentum by sticking his sword in the ground. "Dobe." Was all he said as he stood back up to his feet. He threw the hand signs he needed before putting his hand over his mouth, "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" Naruto saw the fireball coming right at him but didn't even move out of the way.

Sasuke was about to rush to move Naruto when he heard the blond laughing behind him. "When did you throw the kunai?" Sasuke asked looking around for the blade that he couldn't see.

Naruto shook his head wiping away a tear. "I never used a Hirashin kunai. He pointed to Sasuke's shoulder where the seal was placed. "I figured out that was my dad's real secret to using the jutsu. He used more than just the kunai to move around."

Sasuke let out a sigh, "So that's why you were so eager for a spar. Last time you challenged me so heatedly we almost killed one another."

Naruto scrunched his nose, "That was your idea, you woke me up from my nap."

XXXX

Obito was reading over the scout reports and saw that the Stone had moved into the Land of Rice Patties just north of them. He was worried this would happen, the war was going to take place inside the Land of Fire. With the Tsuchikage moving his troops so aggressively he knew he would need to put troops on the border by the end of the week. He was looking over who to send. Gai was an optimal choice to head a force of ninja, while his enthusiasm was exhausting in normal situations in battle it was a miracle worker. He sent his secretary to bring him the green clad ball of pep.

XXXX

Gai was smiling at his former comrade turned leader. "I'm sorry Obito it has been unyouthful of me to not congratulate you on your recent promotion to Hokage. I am sure Lord Fourth would be proud of his youthful student and the life you have lived.

Obito stared ahead at the overly excited man. "Thanks, I guess." Obito said grabbing a piece of paper. "I'm sending you and your team out to lead a division against the Stone." Gai nodded his understanding. "I don't want anyone to attack anyone unless they cross the border and if any Leaf Ninjas cross the border before that happens they are to be considered deserters."

Gai gave his nice guy pose. "You can count on my Obito, I mean Lord Hokage."

Obito nodded, "I know I can that's why I choose you for this."

XXXX

Obito made it home and when he entered the house he noticed ninja gear laid out on the table. He didn't remember bringing anything out but when he looked closely he could recognize the tools that were laid out. "Rin!" Obito shouted.

Said woman poked her head around the corner. "What's up?" She asked coming around in full ninja gear.

Obito was stuttering seeing Rin dressed as a ninja for the first time since before they moved in together. "What's going on?" He asked worriedly.

Rin walked up to her husband with a determined look in her eye. "I'm preparing for war, what does it look like?"

"I won't allow this." Obito said, he had been terrified of losing her ever since the day she was made a jinchuuriki. He still didn't fully understand the seal she had and even Jiraiya didn't have the time he needed to understand it before his passing.

Rin let out a breath looking away from Obito then back at him. "If I weren't your wife would you still stop me?"

"I still trust your strength Rin, it's not because you're my wife." Obito said putting his hands on her shoulders gently.

Rin shrugged him off, "So it's because I'm a jinchuuriki then? So Naruto will be staying in the village too?"

Obito tried to avoid her stare, he had this argument already with Shikaku and himself and he was never able to fully convince himself that she shouldn't go to war. "I'm sorry Rin, I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

Rin looked up at her husband and saw that exhaustion written all over his face, "If I weren't your wife or the Three Tails jinchuuriki would you deny me the chance to fight? I'm one of the best medics in the world and you know it Obito."

Without warning Obito pulled her into a hug. "I know Rin." She could've sword she heard him choke for a moment but when he pulled away she saw that his face was dry and calm. "If this is what you really want then I can't say no."

Rin nodded, "I promise I will make it back." She put her hand on his cheek.

"You have to go with Team 7." Obito added as she turned to ready her equipment. "Team 7 is going to be heading a division and they're going to need a second medic."

Rin sighed, "Fine. I'll keep the boys in line for you."

Obito smiled and went into his room to try to catch some sleep.

XXXX

Sakura was going through her medical supplies the way Rin and Tsunade had shown her. She would lay every piece of equipment out on the floor so she would be able to visualize them when she packed it all away. She had gotten the notice that her and the rest of Team 7 would be leading a division to flank the enemy should they attack Gai and his group.

She had thought long and hard and she didn't know which of them most deserved to be considered the division leader, Naruto while not the most mature was already on a Kage level of strength, while Sasuke was still a genin. She figured that more than likely the leader would be decided on the field.

She noticed that Naruto had one of his Hirashin kunai laid out in the room. She picked it up and packed it with everything else figuring an easy way to summon Naruto couldn't hurt, it's how Rin brought him to the battlefield against Danzo.

She looked up as a smiling Naruto came in the house. "Watch your step." She said going over her mental checklist of everything she would need.

Naruto watched Sakura as he could see the wheels turning behind her eyes, he smiled and went into the kitchen to make himself a cup of ramen. He always hated the three minutes he had to wait and now the silence made it even worse. "So I take it we got orders." He said laying his head on the table in front of his noodles.

"Team 7 will be leading a division to reinforce Gai and his group should a battle break out. We are to remain hidden and only attack if Gai gives the signal."

Naruto understood the strategy. If they didn't attack they could keep forces hidden and if they did they would be in so deep that retreat wouldn't be possible opening it so Naruto and Sasuke wouldn't have to hold anything back. "Sounds like a lot." Naruto said keeping an eye on the clock hanging from the wall.

Sakura grabbed something she had forgotten adding it to the group on the floor. "It's a sound strategy that Shikamaru's dad came up with. We don't want the enemy to know about your abilities just yet."

"I take it Obito won't be joining us on the battlefield." Naruto said seeing that enough time had passed he lifted the lid and started eating.

"If Obito Sensei joined us then I would be much more worried. The only time a Hokage comes out during war is if things are really bad or we are short on ninjas." Sakura said using what she had learned in the academy and never forgotten. "You really should've paid more attention back in the academy Naruto."

The blond shrugged as he swallowed a mouthful of noodles. "Iruka Sensei wasn't very exciting. The way Rin told stories was always better." He said shoveling more noodles into his mouth.

Sakura let out a sigh, she had known Naruto for years but she didn't think she would ever get used to the way he ate. "Eat like you have some class!" She shouted throwing an empty canteen at his head.

Naruto rubbed the spot on his head, he could've easily dodged the canteen and it didn't really hurt, he just always liked this game with Sakura. "Sorry babe." Naruto said taking another bite. He rubbed his hand over the square box in his pocket, he had been carrying it around for a while and was waiting for just the right time but it hadn't come. Then like a light bulb Naruto remembered that he always made thing happen. "I need to go Sakura, I'll be back in a bit." He said walking to the door and only stopping just enough to kiss her forehead before going out the door.


	57. Love Struck

Sakura had left the room for just a moment and when she came back in all of her supplies were missing, she looked around but even the mat they were laying on was gone. She couldn't find any sign of break in so she knew it had to be Naruto. She looked some more and found a small note on the door that said. "Start in the spot that a deer a pig and the butterfly meet for dinner."

Sakura looked at both sides of the note and she could tell that it was Naruto's hand writing but she didn't know what would possess him to steal all of her supplies he knew how anal compulsive she was about everything.

XXXX

Sakura was walking through the village looking at all the people going about their day, "Where would a deer, a pig and a butterfly meet for dinner?" She asked herself aloud.

"Hey forehead what you up to?" Ino asked sneaking up on the preoccupied pinkette.

"Ino what are you doing, weren't we going for barbecue?" Choji asked loudly as he and Shikamaru walked up to the group.

Sakura let out a sigh, "Naruto stole all of my supplies and left me this clue." She said handing the note to Shikamaru who read it over and smiled quickly.

"Why don't you join us for dinner Sakura?" He asked as he started to walk closer to their usual barbecue shop.

XXXX

Sakura was sitting with Team 10 impatiently. "Just relax Sakura." Ino said putting her hand on the irritable kunoichi's shoulder.

"How can I when that baka stole my equipment. It took me over an hour to set everything up just right." She said looking all around. "I shouldn't be with you guys I need to find my baka boyfriend."

Shikamaru put his drink down, "Think about it Sakura. A deer," he gestured to himself, "a pig," he pointed to an upset Ino, "and a butterfly." He said gesturing to Choji next to him who had a mouthful of food. "You're right where you're supposed to be."

Ino's eyes lit up, "Oh it's a scavenger hunt! Let's help her out!"

Shikamaru waved Ino off, "That's a drag, Ino besides Asuma wanted to meet with us and the Hokage later."

Sakura was about to ask what Obito Sensei wanted with them when a waitress interrupted them. "Pardon me, but this is for you." She said handing Sakura another note.

Sakura opened it and read it aloud for the group. "In the place the snake mistress calls home, you'll find your next clue."

Shikamaru smirked, that was Naruto for you, not a very complex fellow. "Looks like you have your next clue Sakura."

Sakura stood up thanked the group and went on her way. Ino spoke up at the lazy ninja. "Why can't we help her? Asuma didn't want to meet with us and Lord Hokage."

Shikamaru smiled, "I know, Naruto already told me and Choji where the last clue is."

XXXX

Sakura was walking towards the forest of death, even after braving this forest once with her team the place gave her the creeps. Things there always seemed twice as big as they had any right to be.

"Well, well. Blondie thought you'd make it here much faster." Anko said sitting on a tree trunk.

Sakura looked up at the purple haired jonin, "He doesn't expect me to go in there, does he?"

Anko smiled, "Nah the brat left the next clue with me." She handed Sakura the note.

Sakura took the note and read it aloud, "Where the blue and green beast go to push their bodies to scary levels in the pursuit of youth." Sakura took off running seeing how this was an easy one.

Anko smirked at the running pinkette and jumped away from the area. "Good luck sweetheart."

XXXX

Sakura burst through the trees and saw Gai and Lee doing squats. "Gai Sensei, Sakura is here just as Naruto foretold! He has become so youthful he has peeked into the very fabric of time and seen the face of kami itself."

Gai smiled with a glint at his student, "Sadly no Lee, Naruto does not have the youth required to see the future." He handed a stunned Sakura the note. "His youth however does give him the cunning to create a clever knowledge to devise a plan that will get Sakura to show her own youth by being witty enough to solve them!"

Sakura ignored Lee's shouts of youth after that as she read the next note. "The place where the fan flames the avenger turned protector."

Lee and Gai did the same thinking pose, "It is a stumper, but Naruto has asked us not to aid you in your quest, good luck Sakura!" Gai shouted.

Sakura nodded and ran off as Lee turned to Gai. "If Naruto could see the future would he then see the end of youth?"

XXXX

Sakura stood in the Uchiha compound looking for the house she knew was Sasuke's, when she heard him clear his throat. "Here you go." He said holding out the yellow note.

"You do know I'm going to kill him once I find him, right?" Sakura asked taking the note.

"No concern of mine what the two of you do in bed." Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Too bad." Sakura said to the smirking Uchiha, "From what I hear you could learn a lot from him."

Sasuke was about to question what she meant when Sakura started reading the note to herself. "Find the home of the hound, the princess, and the worker."

Sasuke took the note and started walking, "That's Team 8 and I need to talk to Hinata now!" Sasuke shouted as Sakura followed behind him laughing.

XXXX

The two members of Team 7 came to training ground 8 and saw the three members sitting in the middle drinking tea. Sasuke walked right up to Hinata, "And what is it that I can learn from Naruto?" He asked loudly to the Hyuuga who was sipping her tea.

Hinata looked at her teammates and Sakura, "Told you it would upset him." Kiba and Sakura laughed at the fuming Uchiha and Shino adjusted his collar.

"Ha that's rich, the stuck up Uchiha elite sucks in bed!" Kiba shouted falling over in laughter.

"Tamaki says you aren't that good either." Hinata says to Kiba who promptly shuts up, while Akamaru barks and wags his tail.

Kiba was about to say something else when Sakura reached her hand out, "Where's my note?" She asked loudly.

Shino dug into his coat and pulled out the note. "Why do I have the note you ask? Because I am the least suspicious."

Sakura took the note smiling at Shino and read it aloud. "From the place of humble beginnings Team 7 began shall you find the next clue."

"Is he trying to rhyme those?" Kiba asked having regained his composure.

Sasuke smirked, "Probably just trying to make it seem like he is."

Sakura took off running towards the academy building while Sasuke stayed behind with Team 8. "So what kind of Tea are we having?" He asked sitting beside Hinata.

"Shouldn't we go ahead like the others?" Shino asked.

Sasuke waved him off, "Nah the last few are going to be the toughest ones."

XXXX

Sakura came through the door and saw Obito looking around the old class room. "You know that day I was always shocked that neither of them figured out I was going to be your sensei." He said smiling and not looking at Sakura.

She stood beside him looking at the class room, "Feels like a lifetime ago." She said looking to her old seat.

Obito smiled, "Yeah, this is the same room me and Rin used to be in. Naruto told me that he and Sasuke sat there." He pointed to two seats in the corner.

Sakura went up to the seats and checked for a note but didn't find one. "And he told me that you used to sit there." He said pointing to another chair.

Sakura couldn't help at smile with how cheesy Naruto was as she grabbed the next note and read it aloud. "The memories we have will not be so easily destroyed." Sakura looked to Obito for help.

"Sorry Sakura, this is one mission you have to finish on your own, good luck." He added as he swirled out of existence.

XXXX

Sakura was wandering the village and seeing that the sun had gone down she didn't know where else to think of. What place has memories that are important that cannot be destroyed? She was thinking about it when it came to her.

She ran along the rooftops until she came to the rubble of the old house that served as the meeting spot for Team 7 and Naruto and Sasuke's childhood home. She saw Rin smiling in front of the house holding baby Kakashi in her arms. "Wow Sakura took you long enough to get this far." She said teasing her apprentice.

"Naruto is in so much trouble for this." Sakura said fuming in frustration.

Rin smiled, "He thought this would be fun." She said handing the pinkette another piece of paper.

Sakura quickly took it and read the note. "The place where One fought Nine and the place where I confessed." Sakura looked at the note confused then back to a smiling Rin.

"Oh no, I am not helping you with this one." She said and Kakashi made a laughing noise.

Sakura eyed the baby before leaning down. "You won't be this mean to your girlfriend right Kakashi?" She asked with a cute baby voice.

Rin smiled at the pinkette fighting back the tears she was feeling. "Good luck." Was all she said as Sakura nodded before heading off in the opposite direction.

XXXX

Sakura sat on a bench reading over the note constantly hoping it would all make sense when she looked toward the village gate and beyond at the forest. She smiled whenever she looked there because it had been the place where Naruto had told he that he loved her, even if it was because he was about to fight a biju.

Her eyes went wide when she realized how stupid she was for not getting the riddle before. She ran out of the gate and saw the gate keepers give her the clear knowing she would be heading out for a few minutes.

Sakura landed on the branch near the clearing created by Naruto and Gaara fighting when she saw said red head looking at the regrowing forest. "He said a lot of things that day." Gaara started, "But what always stuck with me was the way he talked about the two of you. He didn't see you as teammates, he saw you both as family. And at a time when I didn't even understand that word when it applied to blood relatives it shocked me to the core when he did about his teammates."

Sakura walked beside the Kazekage looking with him in the distance. "Do you hate yourself for what you did?" She asked mainly because she couldn't think of anything else to say.

Gaara took in a breath, "I mostly try to think of what could've been had he not saved me. The day he saved me was the day my siblings go their brother back and the day I got my life." He reached into his pocket and pulled out another note.

Sakura took it, "You not only ruined guy's day you hit me with your love and your head." Sakura turned to look at Gaara but found that he had left silently.

She sat down on the branch and read over the note, she had no idea where Naruto was leading her with this one. She looked towards the hospital and remembered all the times that her teammates had ended up in there. It was also the place where Naruto told her the story about how they had first met.

Her eyes widened realizing that was what Naruto had meant, without another word she ran off towards the playground they had used as kids.

XXXX

Sakura landed just outside the playground and she saw Naruto watching her from the top of a small hill. "Naruto I swear I'm going to…" Before she could finish Naruto snapped his fingers and paper lanterns were lit all around them and released into the air. She saw that the ones lighting the lanterns had been the ones she had met during the scavenger hunt.

"Sorry for stealing all of your supplies." Naruto said rubbing the back of his head.

Gaara and Obito were suspended in the air above them on a cloud of sand. Obito formed the hand seals and using his mangekyo whispered, "Fire Style: Bomb Blast Jutsu."

Sakura got closer to Naruto as she saw the gentle flames surround the two of them and hold their position forming a ring of fire lighting them both up.

Sakura turned to Naruto confusion etched all along her face. "What is this?" She asked not understanding what was happening.

Naruto smiled and got down on one knee. "Sakura I wanted everyone to be a part of this because they would all see me complete one of my life goals." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box that had the leaf village symbol on it.

Sakura gasped when she saw what he was holding. Naruto opened the box and she saw the golden ring with a blue diamond that seemed to swirl around on the inside. "This is the ring my father gave to my mother, sadly she never had the chance to wear it but I know she would love for you to wear it and become my wife."

Sakura's hands were still covering her mouth, just a few moments ago she wanted to beat the piss out of Naruto now here he was in front of her proposing marriage to her, she thought of how much he always worked to make her happy and how happy she was just being around him and without another thought she nodded her head extending her hand forward. "Yes Naruto, yes I will marry you."

Naruto put the ring on her hand carefully and jumped up pulling her into a kiss as the bystanders all cheered at the now engaged couple.

Obito released the jutsu as the fire faded and he smiled at how the little knuckle head that he had raised soon would be raising his own gaggle of knuckleheads and somehow, he would get stuck with babysitting.

Rin was happily crying at the sight next to Tsunade who was smiling and clapping for the new couple. Rin was so happy that Naruto could have a life like this, it was all she had wanted and she knew Minato Sensei and Kushina would be thrilled to see the way his life has turned out.

Sasuke watched the two embrace while standing next to a clapping Hinata. Naruto may be the most important person to him, but his brother was also taking a leap ahead in life in the same style he always did; not looking down and going with everything he had.

Naruto leaned his head back and looked at the bright green eyes that he was looking forward to seeing for the rest of his life. "I love you Sakura." Naruto said a few tears coming out of his eyes.

"I love you too Naruto." Sakura said wiping away the tears from his face.

 **AN: Alright I wanted to think of a really cute way for Naruto proposed and I like to think I did a really good job. When I first started this chapter I had no idea what to do then I took my own advice from last chapter and made it happen haha.**


	58. Timeless Bounty

Sasuke woke up and saw the early morning sun in the sky, he looked over to the now empty space in his bed. "Hinata must've left in the middle of the night." He said out loud to no one as he got himself ready. This was going to be the day he and his team go out to war.

He didn't know what to expect, they were the reinforcement squad so there was a chance all they would do would be to watch Gai and his group stand on the border and look at the enemy. Sasuke looked himself in the mirror, this was the thing that the village had trained him for all these years, every ninja had their own reasons but this was the reason the village did it.

He activated his mangekyo and saw the pattern and recognized the similarity it had to Itachi's. "I will make you proud brother." He said with determination filling his voice.

XXXX

Naruto stood at the front gate looking towards the horizon, he saw the other members of Gai's division talking with one another, but now Naruto needed a moment to clear his thoughts, the night before had been one of the happiest nights of his life. The woman he loved had agreed to marry him and now he was that more determined that the both of them would make it home to live the rest of their lives together.

He saw his division arriving, he figured that everyone else was probably thinking along the same lines. Everyone needs something in life worth fighting for, and if it cannot be found you'll be left behind.

"Not like you to be this quiet dobe." Sasuke said standing next to his brother. "Are you ready for this?"

Naruto didn't smile this time it wouldn't feel right. "I'm ready for it to be over."

Sasuke understood what Naruto meant, they had both learned the hard way that war and battles were not the stuff of legends and dreams of glory, in reality they were horror stories and nightmares that most who experienced them wanted to put it behind them.

Sakura walked next to Naruto, "Maybe this won't turn into anything." She said with hope, she didn't want to have to kill people she was trained to do the opposite of that. She laced her fingers with Naruto's. "We have things worth protecting though."

Both boys nodded and looked behind to the village and to the Hokage monument where their sensei was going to be immortalized. "This place is worth fighting for." Sasuke said remembering everything that had happened here. He lost his family and gained a new one that would do anything for him and proved it more than once.

Sakura thought about the life she had here and how everyone in the world she cared for lived here. The people who had accepted her for no other reason besides it was the right thing to do and they could tell she needed someone too.

Naruto looked closer to his father's face on the statue. He was willing to give his life for the people here and he is remembered as the greatest Hokage for his sacrifice. Naruto put his hand over his stomach and his mind drifted to his mother and how she had been the jinchuuriki before him, she shared the same dream that Naruto and his father had. To become the Hokage and make the village a safe place. "What would you think of me now, so happy, so strong, so proud?"

Sakura held his hand tighter to show slight affection to what she knew was going through his head. He had said it so quietly she was sure that only her and Sasuke would be the ones to hear it.

XXXX

Sasuke stood just over the hill his division was placed near he kept his eyes ahead watching Gai's division all on high alert. But it seemed that Gai was relaxed, Sasuke noticed Neji towards the back probably watching for a flank. He had Hinata doing the same thing for their group formed from Team 7, Team 8, and Team 10. He felt confident in this group and their abilities, he was also aware that some were much more well suited for combat than others.

He glanced back and saw that Shikamaru was in his thinking pose, most likely trying to plan for every possible outcome, the rest of the group were all staying on alert and ready to move at any moment.

It was only a few years ago that they were all the underdog rookies of the Leaf that were making a stupid decision to enter the Chunin exams. He chuckled to himself, nearly every one of them had changed, Ino wasn't the vain pain she used to be. Shikamaru was more willing to apply himself if it meant protecting people. Choji had become stronger in mind body and soul willing to push himself far beyond his limits.

Team 8 was the most shocking change. Kiba had stopped being the hot head that could go off at any minute and had actually taken a back seat to Shino's leadership of the group. Hinata had become someone very important to him, were he as sappy as Naruto he would consider spending the rest of his life with her too. But those were thoughts for another day because right now they had bigger things to worry about.

Naruto shot up when he saw one of the ninjas in Gai's division get struck by a kunai and drop to the ground, without wasting another second the entire first division attacked with a scream.

"Gai hasn't given us the message." Sasuke said looking back to them. "Hinata keep an eye on him, if he gives us the message or falls we move in. I don't want any of them to know we're there until it's too late, that means you Naruto and Kiba."

Both understood the slight jab but were willing to let it slide. Naruto was willing to get behind Sasuke for the time being he just hoped the rest of them felt the same way.

Hinata was watching the battlefield intensely, she had lost count of the chakra signatures in the chaos but had kept her sights on Gai, he was tearing through the enemy like they were paper the way he moved it almost seemed like a dance.

Naruto readied himself, he wasn't going to use Hirashin or Kurama's power until he felt cornered. He didn't want to make a name for himself in this war and he knew he was prone to doing things like that.

"Gai has stopped fighting." Hinata said to the group. "He's staring at a man in front of him, they're both talking but I can't tell what about."

Sasuke grit his teeth, "We wait for the signal." It wasn't like Gai to just freeze up in a battle.

"So this must be the kids table." Came a gruff sounding voice behind them.

Sasuke turned and saw a tall man with green eyes, "Kakuzu." Sasuke said under his breaths staring at the bounty hunter.

"I had planned on leaving you alone, but I know that you and the blond brat are worth a lot of money to the Tsuchikage and my employer." He said to Sasuke.

Ino dropped into her hand signs but before she could apply the proper chakra for the mind transfer jutsu Kakuzu's hand extended off of his arm and gripped her throat. "None of that children." He said coldly to the group. "Now I am only here for the Uchiha and the jinchuuriki."

Naruto and Sasuke readied themselves for a fight but were shocked to see that not only had the rest of the group done the same but Sakura and Hinata had actually attacked.

Hinata struck the chakra point at the bounty hunters heart while Sakura hit him with a chakra enhanced punch launching him away from the group.

"I hit his heart with that attack; he's not getting back up." Hinata said to the group.

Sasuke was about to thank them when Kakuzu stood back up. "Damn, I guess I won't be using any water today."

Sasuke grit his teeth, "He isn't immortal; he takes the hearts of his opponents and uses them to perform jutsu and prolong his life. Hinata killed one of them, just kill him four more times!"

Without another word the group scattered into their usual teams ready to battle the bounty hunter. "Children trying to play ninja with the grownups how cute." He said before spitting out his remaining hearts at his targets.

Hinata ducked under the fire attack and pulled her hand back to strike, as her palm neared she saw the buildup in fire chakra on its body. She turned on her heel and darted off in another direction. "It uses its chakra nature as a shield!" She shouted out so everyone could hear.

"I wonder how much I could get for selling the Hyuuga princess off?" He said watching the fights happening around him.

Sasuke was about to charge ahead to take the bounty hunters head off when Sakura stopped him. "Keep your head on straight Sasuke!" She barked at the Uchiha.

Shikamaru had started to watch the way the fights were progressing he was about to shout out his plan when he heard a shout, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto screamed as an army of clones poofed into existence and charged the hearts at full speed.

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes at the sheer numbers he was facing, he hadn't expected the son of the Yellow Flash to be this advanced. "I suppose I should've expected as much from the Fourth's brat!"

Naruto felt the anger bubble up in his belly but he suppressed it, he needed to keep a cool head against this guy.

"Shikamaru, Kiba!" Sasuke shouted to the two. Without another word they both saw the strategy Sasuke was thinking of and used it quickly.

Using his shadow possession Shikamaru held the lightning heart in place as Kiba and Akamaru tore straight through it, they attempted to do the same to the fire heart but the wind heart pushed Kiba away. "Rasengan!" Naruto shouted as he slammed the spinning ball of chakra into the wind heart when it wasn't paying attention.

"Chidori!" Sasuke screamed charging the earth heart tearing through it like a knife through butter.

The fire heart returned to Kakuzu and he eyed the group that had surrounded him. "I had hoped it wouldn't come to this. I always kill my targets no matter what." He built up all the fire chakra he could inside his body.

"He's going to explode!" Hinata screamed to the group.

Naruto's eyes widened, he grabbed one Hirashin kunai out of his pack and threw it in the distance and he dropped another one where he was standing. He put his hands on Sasuke and Sakura and warped them away, Naruto reappeared and threw his kunai at Choji and caught it in front of the Akimichi heir. Naruto grabbed Ino and Choji before warping away again.

Sasuke looked up and saw the explosion go off, he saw that Sakura, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino had all escaped the blast. He stood to his feet not believing it, his Sharingan focused on the now burnt battle ground and ran full speed to it followed by Sakura.

"Naruto, Hinata!" Sasuke yelled repeatedly as he checked the rubble. "There are no bodies!" He said looking to Sakura who looked just as worried as he did.

He turned when he heard a rock being moved out of the way. "Here!" Naruto shouted as he pulled an unconscious Hinata out of the rubble.

Sasuke ran up and slid on his knees to take Hinata. "What happened?" He asked the exhausted looking blond.

"After I got everyone else out when I reached for her I was too late. The fire was already burning us but she had a plan. She used her family's jutsu, Eight Trigrams: Palm Rotation, to stop all of the fire."

Sasuke hugged Hinata's head to his body. "Thank you." He whispered to himself as he saw her pale eyes start to open.

"Don't get all mushy on me just yet Uchiha." She said smiling at the almost teary eyed boy holding her.

Sakura looked in the distance and saw the battle field had been torn to pieces and Gai's division was limping away from the border.

Naruto saw the same thing so he turned, "Ino, we need to know what's going on over there."

With a nod, she sat on the ground and formed the hand signs she needed to communicate with the Yamanaka from the First Division. After a moment she spoke up, "They were winning the battle fighting behind Gai Sensei but he stopped when he saw someone that he must've known. He thinks he heard Gai Sensei say 'Eternal Rival'."

Sakura's eyes shot open she knew there was only one person that Gai has ever referred to that way. "We need to send a message to the Hokage." The group all looked to her in confusion, "Somehow Kakashi Hatake is on the battlefield."


	59. Confessions

Obito looked at the exhausted Gai and his former students. Both had turned in reports but the only one that interested Obito was the one Gai had brought him. "There's no way!" He started to panic, "For kami sake I'm the one that killed him!"

No one in the room knew what to say. Gai may have called Kakashi his rival but he was never as close to him as Obito had been. "I am sorry Obito but it was him, he even had the lightning blade."

Sakura was trying to think of any reason it could be done before Sasuke spoke up. "The Reanimation jutsu." Everyone looked to the young Uchiha. "It's the same thing Orochimaru used when he fought Lord Third, it allows him to resurrect and then enslave anyone as long as he had a sample of DNA."

Obito was clenching his teeth, not only had his best friend been enslaved in life but now the same thing was happening to him in death. "Sasuke I need every piece of information you have on the Reanimation Jutsu, who knows who else Orochimaru could bring back to fight."

Naruto hated seeing Obito this distraught, he knew few things got under his skin like this, but Kakashi was always one of them. Obito had so much respect for the once dead ninja that he even named his son after him. "We'll win this, you know that, right?" He asked the Hokage that was trying to avoid panicking.

Obito let out a breath, "Thank you for the report." With that he sat back in his chair and leaned on his hands, "Now Gai I want you to return to the border." With a nod the enthusiastic jonin left the room to head back to his division. "Team 7 I need you to return to your unit on the border as well. Gai's division is ordered to push past the border now that the first battle has happened. I need all of you on high alert for anything that could happen." He took a deep breath, "This time Rin will be joining you all."

None of them wanted to say anything because it was clear that Obito didn't like the idea and had been convinced. "Understood." Sasuke said breaking the silence

Obito watched as Team 7 left the room and were going to make their way back to the frontline. He was considering going out himself and leaving someone else in charge while he was gone. Tsunade was still in the village but she was running the hospital while Rin and Sakura were gone. He knew that he needed Shikaku for battlefield strategies, he had considered Hiashi, Obito trusted the Hyuuga head but that did not mean he trusted the Hyuuga family, if it weren't for how few Uchiha were left the sentiment probably would've gone both ways.

XXXX

Naruto was walking in the group formation Sasuke had planned that put him and Kiba near the medics to protect them. Sasuke partially planned it because he knew Naruto wouldn't let anyone get close to either of them, but also because the two of them were the most likely to get injured. The blond knew this of course but didn't see the point in arguing. Sasuke in leader mode was a different person, everyone just listened to him without hesitation and Naruto was jealous of that.

Sakura saw the look on her now fiancé's face. "Hey perk up baka." She said jokingly bumping his arm, "Soon we'll be through Grass and at Kannabi bridge."

Rin turned her head hearing that, "That bridge was destroyed." She said to the group, "Team Minato did it personally." She used the name of her team to get the point across that it happened.

Sakura nodded, "Yes but it was rebuilt by Grass in the past few years." She knew of the mission that Rin was talking about, it had been the mission that pushed the future Lady Uchiha to develop herself into a stronger ninja rather than just a medic.

Naruto had his hands behind his head, "So are we going to destroy it again than?"

Sakura shook her head, "The plan is to keep moving forward until we either reach enemy forces or the Rock border."

Naruto looked over to his sister and wondered if she was aware that a resurrected Kakashi was a potential enemy. "Rin, did you hear about Gai Sensei's report?"

Rin's smile faded away, "Yes Naruto I did, but I am more than prepared to fight for the good of the village."

Naruto understood what she meant by that. He wondered though had Sasuke not come home and was a threat to the village would he have been willing to kill his brother like Obito had done to Kakashi during the invasion?

Sakura gently put her hand on Naruto's back, his frown broke away as he smiled to her. Sakura's eyes narrowed at the blond. "You don't have to act all tough with me Naruto. If something is bothering you, you don't always have to tell me but you don't have to hide your pain either."

Naruto's smile relaxed a bit, but he still smiled about how much Sakura cared for him as a person. "Thank you, Sakura." He said looking forward again.

XXXX

Sasuke and Hinata were at the front of the group able to use their abilities to scout the area ahead when Hinata decided to break the silence. "It was cute watching you get all worked up when you thought Naruto and I were gone."

Sasuke smirked, "I was more worried what your father and Sakura would've done to me." Hinata chuckled, "I know you can take care of yourself Hinata, that's one of the reasons I love you."

Hinata froze for a moment caught between the want to tease him and the shock of her boyfriend saying that he loved her. "You what?"

Sasuke smiled back getting the reaction he wanted out of her. "Don't get all panicky now Princess."

Hinata wanted to look angry at the patronizing ass of a boyfriend but couldn't stop smiling at his confession and how it fit him perfectly. "Don't think I'm going to say it back just because you said it Uchiha!"

"I know." Sasuke said really enjoying teasing her this much. "Don't expect a ring from me anytime soon though."

"Hmph," Hinata grunted to the boy, she didn't want that yet anyway. Him saying he loved her was more than enough for now.

XXXX

Obito was looking over his numbers when he heard a knock on his door. "Come in." The Hokage said wondering who could possibly be bothering him at this late hour.

The door opened and Obito immediately knew where the conversation was heading. "Lady Mizukage." He said in greeting to the tall auburn haired woman.

"Obito Uchiha, it has been too long." She said with a smile to the now professional man.

Obito looked past her and saw that two men followed her, one was even taller than Mei and had scaly blue skin and a sword that was wrapped in white fabric. The other man was tall and slender with dark hair and a massive sword strapped to his back. "Kisame Hoshigaki and Zabuza Momochi." He said greeting the other two men. "If you don't mind my asking why the sudden visit?"

Mei took the seat across from Obito crossing her legs and then placing both her hands on top. "I am here to offer my support against the Rock."

Obito leaned back he didn't know much about the new Mizukage but he had very little trust for the Hidden Mist after Rin was taken by them. "I think you can understand my skepticism, I'm sure you know my personal history with your village."

Mei nodded keeping her smile. "The story of Obito the Untouchable is told to children at night to scare them sometimes."

Obito leaned forward, "What's the cost of this alliance?" He knew it was more than likely Isobu but he knew what it meant for a jinchuuriki to have their biju taken from them.

Mei's smile never faded making Obito a tad uncomfortable. "Why the Three Tails of course."

"I believe it was your village who sealed him inside of a Leaf citizen." Obito said with so much killing intent that even Kisame shifted his footing.

Mei's smile held up, "I am aware and inside your wife no less."

Kisame looked at the Hokage and remembered the time that the other Uchiha he had met told him about a man that was going to change the world. When he heard that man had killed over a dozen Mist ninjas all to protect his family he more intrigued than he was shocked.

"Then I am sure you already know my answer." Isobu is just as much a citizen of this village as Kyuubi." Obito said not backing down.

Mei stood up from her seat. "You misunderstand me Lord Hokage. I don't expect the return of the Sanbi until after your wife has passed of natural causes."

Hearing that Obito was more willing to hear her out. "Is that your only demand?"

"Add free trade between our villages and you've got yourself a deal." She said reaching her hand out to the still seated Hokage.

Thinking about it Obito saw no real downside to taking the plan, Rin would live her life and Isobu would return to live with the Mist maintaining the balance of power in the villages. He stood up and shook the Mizukage's hand. "I agree to your terms Lady Mizukage, how soon can I expect your aid?"

Mei's smile shifted from her unnerving one to a cocky smirk, "We will begin mobilizing once I make it back to my village."

Obito nodded to the Mizukage and then to her swordsman guardians. When Kisame reached his hand out in greeting. "I have heard things about you Obito for a long time." He said as the Hokage returned the hand shake. "Itachi Uchiha was the first man to speak of you."


	60. Taka

Hinata was watching Gai's division in the distance it didn't seem that her or Neji had noticed any enemies in the area which had her less on edge. She knew that Sasuke was depending on her and Gai was depending on Neji so they had to be on the top of their game today. She was pulled from her thoughts when Sakura spoke up.

"Hinata you need to eat something." She said offering a rice ball to the Hyuuga. "You still haven't recovered all of your chakra from holding that jutsu that saved you and Naruto."

Hinata took the rice ball quickly from Sakura. "You don't need to babysit me pinky." She said coldly to the medic.

Sakura grit her teeth at being talked to that way, while in the distance Sasuke elbowed Naruto so that he would see what was happening. "I'm just looking out for you Hinata."

The Hyuuga turned her full attention to Sakura now, "No you just feel like you owe me something because I saved your fiancé."

That was it for Sakura, "Do you have a problem with me?" Sakura shouted at the spiteful Hyuuga.

Before Hinata could say anything back Rin spoke up. "Would the two of you shut up?" Both kunoichis turned to look at the brunette. "If the two of you start fighting this unit will be useless."

Sakura realizing the point that Rin was making was also something that Obito sensei had been teaching them since they had started their ninja careers she turned to Hinata first. "I'm sorry for lashing out Hinata."

Hinata was avoiding eye contact with the pink haired girl now and looking at the ground. "I'm sorry too." She said under her breath.

"Good." Rin said going back to her lunch.

Kiba looked sad about what had happened so Naruto spoke up. "What's eating you?"

Kiba looked to where Naruto and Sasuke were sitting and sadly said, "I thought we were going to have a chick fight!"

Sasuke and Naruto looked coldly to the Inuzuka which he did not notice until Akamaru walked away and sat beside Shino. "Watch it dog boy!" Naruto shouted.

Without changing where he was looking Shino spoke up. "You better apologize before he kicks your ass."

"Like Naruto could take me on!" Kiba said crossing his arms.

The entire camp burst out laughing at the Inuzuka heir's expense before Sasuke spoke up. "Hell Kiba I think Ino might be able to take you on."

Kiba was about to protest when he saw Ino sizing him up before cracking her knuckles. If there was one thing that Kiba had learned from his mother it was that you should never underestimate a woman. He sat down on the ground deciding that saying nothing would be best.

Naruto fidgeted next to Sasuke. "We've been moving for almost two days since we've been in the village."

Sasuke chuckled, "Yeah that's what happens when you're out here dobe."

Naruto playfully shoved the Uchiha. "It's just all we're doing is moving closer to the border what happens when we get there?"

Sasuke swallowed a bite of his food. "Stare ahead at the enemy. At least that's what the forward division will do. We'll just watch them."

Shikamaru leaned against the tree near them. "We will most likely hold that post until the Cloud and Sand join us at which point we will all go forward until the Tsuchikage surrenders. Honestly I can't imagine what going to war with us will gain him; we have an alliance with nearly every other nation and none of them have any love for the Rock."

Naruto nodded along understanding. "So we sit here waiting for Cloud and Shikamaru's girlfriend."

Choji laughed causing him to choke up his food at hearing that. "Even Naruto can see it Shikamaru!"

Naruto grinned looking at the genius who was trying to avoid eye contact. "So there is something going on with you and Temari then?" He watched the Nara avoid his gaze. "Well I know Gaara doesn't have a problem with you so you don't have to worry about sand burial." He said chuckling to himself.

Shikamaru let out a sigh, "That's not what I'm worried about. I know that romantic relationships between people from two different villages isn't a simply matter, not to mention she is the daughter of a former Kazekage and sister to the current one."

Ino stood next to Shikamaru, "Oh it's so romantic to see the star-crossed love you two share."

Choji kept laughing on the ground. "Isn't she the one that asked you out the first time?"

This caught the attention of nearly the entire group, even Hinata turned her head when she heard that. "She asked you out?" Sasuke asked raising an eyebrow.

Shikamaru let out a breath and mumbled, "What a drag." Before speaking up, "Last time her and her brothers were in the Leaf she said that the two of us were going to dinner. I thought nothing of it until I got there and she was wearing a dress while I was wearing my normal Chunin outfit."

Ino crossed her arms closing her eyes, "And after all the work I went through finding her the perfect dress."

Naruto laughed, "For a genius Shikamaru you sure are dense."

Sasuke looked to the distance before whispering to the blond. "Pot calling the kettle black."

Naruto glared at the Uchiha who didn't acknowledge the look, he was about to say something else when Hinata spoke up. "Neji has seen activity." She began to search for anything that could be a threat. "I've counted 30 enemies, none of them appear to be ninjas but they are all armed."

Shikamaru was thinking about it thoughtfully, but by the time he had figured it out it was too late and the area was already filling with smoke. "The ninjas are after us!" He shouted to the group.

Sakura was by Naruto and Sasuke's side in a moment ready for anything. Sasuke saw the kunai coming their way and deflected it with his katana. He looked at the kunai for a moment to be sure there were no explosive tags, when he saw there wasn't one he readied himself again. He could hear that the rest of their group was already fighting but even with his Sharingan he couldn't see anything.

Naruto formed the small blue ball of chakra in his hand and aimed his palm forward. He continued to add more chakra until it became big enough for him to start pushing the smoke away. When he looked, he saw the entire clearing they were in had become a battlefield with each team working to take out as many enemies as they could.

Without needing to look at one another Team 7 charged forward into the fight, their first priority was to free up Team 10 because their abilities were best suited for not being in the middle of the fight but on the back line. Sasuke cut through three ninjas in the blink of an eye and before he could hit another one he felt a fist hit his chest.

Naruto snapped his head as Sasuke was launched into a tree, he was about to attack the new opponent before he found himself submerged in water. "Ha taking out Sasuke and all of his friends is going to be easier than I thought." Said a head that grew out of the water.

Sakura was about to help her occupied teammates when she someone punch her in the side of the head. "Sasuke is mine you bitch!" Said a loud red haired woman.

Sasuke groggily got to his feet. He had forgotten just how hard Jugo could hit, "Jugo haven't we been through this?" He asked seeing the seething man in front of him. "I can stop you even faster than Kimimaro could."

Jugo lunged forward at the Uchiha ready to take his head off before he made eye contact with his Sharingan. Jugo's feet hit the ground and he stopped running. "Sasuke I am sorry but Lord Orochimaru wants you dead."

Sasuke groaned, "Of course he does." He looked to his teammates being held by the other two sound ninjas. "Suigetsu, Karin; that's enough." Sasuke said looking at the two.

The white haired water ninja looked to the now irate Sasuke. "Make me Uchiha!"

Naruto's eyes widened as he felt the water start to boil around him. "You're just going to get yourself hurt, the both of you." He said eyeing them both.

Sakura kept on her guard because Naruto was still being burned. "Let him go now!" She screamed to the water man.

Suigetsu was about to refuse before he felt a buildup inside the water and himself disperse drenching the entire area.

Naruto dropped to his knees as the Rasengan in his hand faded away. Sakura rushed to heal the burns on his body. Sasuke was watching the water ninja reforming himself, "You know that he's stronger than any of you?" He said to the group. He noticed that the battle had ended and the rest of his division was surrounding the three from Sound.

Karin latched onto Sasuke's arm, "I've finally found you Sasuke!" She screamed holding onto the now annoyed ninja.

Naruto looked up to Sakura quickly healing his burns. "Thanks, Sakura." He said getting back to his feet and watching the water ninja reforming into a person again. "How does he even do that?" He asked shocked at seeing a person made of water.

Sasuke shrugged Karin off his arm. "It's his blood line, it allows him to turn completely into water making him very tough to kill."

Suigetsu crossed his arms, "Never stopped you from trying." He smiled a toothy smile at Naruto. "So you must be the blond idiot from the Leaf."

Hinata walked next to Sasuke eyeing the red head. "What do we do with them?" She asked not happy that they were all talking to freely with the enemy.

Sasuke looked over at Hinata and saw the aggravated look in her eyes. "Take them captive for now I suppose."

Karin and Jugo didn't seem that opposed to the plan, Suigetsu on the other hand grabbed Hinata and held his hand which had been sharpened to her throat. "I'm not going back in a cage you hear me?" He screamed to the group.

Naruto saw the anger in Sasuke's eyes and knew he was about to kill the water ninja for threatening Hinata. Naruto touched the man's shoulder, "If you go through with this any more you will die."

Suigetsu looked at Sasuke and saw that his Sharingan looked different than it normally did. He let go of the woman who turned around jamming her palm into his side. "Bastard is solid now."

Suigetsu was about to question what she had meant until he saw Sasuke's fist coming for his jaw and landing on solid flesh.

Sasuke stared down at the unconscious ninja. "I enjoyed that." He said before turning to Hinata.

Rin watched the group, she noticed how the three that knew Sasuke were the only survivors. She even checked the bodies of the ninjas Sasuke killed and noticed that he killed them painlessly by the way he struck. She knew Sasuke was efficient but seeing that he was also merciful when he could be made her feel better.


	61. Nine Vs Five

Obito sat in his office feeling stuffed in, he got up and left the large building heading for the Jonin headquarters. The first person to notice him was Asuma. "What are you doing here Lord Hokage?" He asked casually to his former classmate.

"I'm going out there with you." He said opening his old locker.

Asuma's cigarette fell out of his mouth as he looked at Obito in shock. "Are you serious?"

Obito nodded his head as he pulled a headband out and a black pair of gloves. "What kind of Hokage would I be if I sent you all out to war and I stayed here?"

Asuma chuckled leaning back against the wall. "Rin is going to kill you."

Obito chuckled checking that his headband was on properly. "I'm sure Kurenai isn't happy with you going out there especially with a little one on the way."

The Sarutobi smiled at the ground. "I suppose so. Where are you going to go then?"

Obito turned to his old classmate with a big smile, "Wherever the biggest fights are obviously."

XXXX

Naruto looked over the battle field they had just fought it. They had captured the three Sound ninjas almost a week ago sending them all back to the Leaf, and had fought in small skirmishes nearly every day so far. No one had any injuries that Sakura or Rin couldn't heal which Naruto was glad for. Things with the group seemed to be moving well, Naruto could tell that Cloud and Sand had also neared the border watching for any Rock ninjas. He was also aware of a Third Division of Leaf ninjas on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice Patties.

He hated the way the war was going, he had lost count on how many ninjas he has had to kill and it ate away at him. He was normally a bright and cheerful person but now he was starting to struggle with finding a reason to smile with the way things were going.

He was pulled out of his thoughts as Sakura stood next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

Naruto shrugged, "You've healed all of my injuries so far."

"That's not what I meant." She said back to him.

"I know what you meant." Naruto said back, "I hate to see this much death." He said looking at how everyone in their group was down trodden and emotionally exhausted. He had learned that during this war was the first time that Ino, Choji, and Kiba had killed anybody, and none of them took it very well.

Ino burst into tears after the battle, Choji froze up immediately after and would've died if it weren't for Shikamaru watching his back, and Kiba retreated inward not really talking to anyone about it.

Sakura rubbed Naruto's back, "I hate it too." They had both grown up in considerably peaceful times. The last war having ended before they were even born. They had seen death and had taken lives but never on this scale before.

For once Naruto didn't have some uplifting thing to say and he just felt tired because of everything. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard Hinata gasp.

"I see someone." She said to the group, "They have the Rock headband but I can see the Tailed Beast sealed inside of them."

Naruto rushed to her side. "Are they tall or short?" He asked worried that this was what he was most afraid of.

Hinata turned to look at Naruto already knowing what he was thinking. "He's big, and seems to be wearing some kind of armor."

Naruto looked into the distance. "Han." He said to himself he felt for Kurama's chakra and woke the fox up.

Kurama looked forward at the blond in front of him. "So Kokuo than." He said as he stood up. "I guess we have to do this." He said sadly to the also upset blond.

Naruto was about to take off ahead when he felt Sasuke grab his shoulder. "Are you sure you want to do this alone?"

Naruto nodded his head. "Han is my fight." He said to Sasuke before whispering. "Besides you need to stay here to make sure they don't get Rin and Isobu."

Sasuke nodded understanding his logic but also hating to send Naruto off to fight another Biju on his own. "Just make it back dobe."

Naruto nodded and forced a smile for his friend before taking off as fast as he could.

Sakura stood next to Sasuke. "I really hope he's strong enough."

Sasuke smirked but lowered his head so it was less obvious. "I don't think any of us have ever seen Naruto go all out, he's going to be fine Sakura." He said reassuringly to the pinkette.

XXXX

Naruto landed in the middle of the destroyed field across from Han. "We don't have to do this you know that right?"

Han crossed his arms. "I am sorry Naruto, but Lord Tsuchikage has declared war on the Leaf and that means I must face you."

Naruto grit his teeth, "Is any of this worth it?" He screamed at the man gesturing to the now wasteland they were standing in. "We're both fighting because your Tsuchikage demands it!"

Han let out a breath, "If it weren't for Lord Orochimaru the Rock would already be at war with you years ago."

Naruto narrowed his eyes realizing it was because of the snake that they were at war. "You haven't answered my question."

Han lowered his head and braced his shoulders as he pushed off of the ground at Naruto.

Seeing the attack coming Naruto ducked under the blow and drove a fist into Han's stomach but hit only armor. Naruto grabbed his wrist in pain seeing Han landing on his feet behind him. "I am stronger than you Naruto."

The blond grit his teeth not willing to go down like this, he bent his knees noticing that a storm had rolled in and the wind was throwing the dirt around. Looking around Naruto realized that it was a trap for him, he couldn't see his way out and he doubted anyone else could see inside.

"Now it's just the two of us." Han said.

Naruto bent into his fighting stance, "No it's the four of us!"

XXXX

Sasuke grit his teeth watching the storm blocking their view of Naruto's battle. Hinata had already given up on trying to see inside. "The dirt has chakra inside of it so I can't see inside."

Sasuke was standing beside Rin refusing to let what Naruto was worried about happen when she spoke up. "I know what you and Naruto are doing." She said to the Uchiha next to her. "I can take care of myself."

Sasuke nodded agreeing with her, "There's no doubt in my mind about that. We just don't want to take any chances, I'm sure all of the other jinchuurikis are being watched as well."

Rin nodded understanding. She didn't hate Isobu for what had happened to her, they had already talked with one another and neither was happy with the situation but both understood it. "Doesn't mean I like it Sasuke."

The Uchiha chuckled to himself, "This would make you the first Lady Uchiha to go to war while holding the title."

Rin nodded smiling at the sentiment, "Might as well do something for the first time."

XXXX

Naruto was panting excessively, Han wasn't kidding about being strong. The man hit harder than Choji and moved like Lee. He felt the ribs that had broken from the kicks and punches Han had dealt. "I don't want to hurt you Han!"

The large man stood largely unharmed, "Nor I you Naruto."

Naruto spit out the blood that was in his mouth. "I'm sorry." He said before putting his hand on his stomach and turning it as the golden chakra covered his entire body and stretching into a cloak.

Han was only slightly shocked at seeing that but didn't let it show. He just pulled out Kokuo's chakra and bent over as the beast took over.

Naruto looked forward at the now massive five tails, he lowered his head hating what was about to happen. He released even more chakra with a shout and then stood inside the massive chakra construct of Kurama.

"Damn it Kokuo stop!" Kurama shouted to his brother.

The five tails stared blankly ahead to Kurama. Naruto's eye widened as he felt the chakra coming from his neck. "He has a curse mark that's suppressing Kokuo completely, that's all Han!" He screamed pointing forward.

Kurama howled in anger, "Orochimaru will die for enslaving him!" He screamed with so much force that anyone near the sand storm covered their ears in pain.

The controlled five tails charged and impaled its horns into Kurama who grabbed the head of the horse like beast and slammed it into the ground and punching its side.

XXXX

Sasuke was trying to shake off the feeling he was getting from the chakra. Through the storm, they could all see the glowing nine tailed fox battling a darkened figure. "I can't believe that's the same kid that used to pull pranks." Rin said aloud.

Sasuke nodded along actually frightened of the power he was witnessing. "He held all that back this entire time?" Rin nodded her jaw hanging open.

XXXX

Kurama held the Five Tails down on the ground, "It's over now!" He screamed trying to think of a way to halt the rampage. He saw its mouth open and a purple sphere forming.

Naruto looked to where it would hit and he realized that was where his friends were camped. "We have to stop him!" He screamed.

Kurama's muscles tightened as he readied his own Tailed Beast Bomb in his mouth and launched it directly into Kokuo's side.

Naruto's heart dropped when he saw the ball still launch from the Five Tails mouth towards his friends.

XXXX

Sasuke saw the large mass of chakra heading their way, he knew that everyone with them was about to die so he did the only thing he could think of. He opened his eyes as their mangekyo form and pushed as much chakra as he possibly could into them.

Rin covered her face sure that she was about to die, she would never have seen her son grow up or what kind of Hokage Obito really would've been. But she heard the blast hit but she was fine as was everyone else in the area. She looked ahead and saw a panting Sasuke holding his face. In front of him a giant purple figure was holding a partially destroyed hand out.

Rin gasped as Sasuke fell to the ground unconscious.

XXXX

Naruto saw that the bomb had been stopped and lifted Kokuo over Kurama's head and slammed the horse creature into the ground. With a deafening thud the beast hit the ground and began to shrink until it was just Han laying on the ground breathing heavily.

Seeing the threat pass Naruto let the giant Kurama fade away but he maintained his chakra cloak as he stood over Han. "You monster." He said to the man, "You would let that snake enslave Kokuo like that, you make me sick."

With a cough, Han looked at him, "If I didn't he was going to kill the Tsuchikage." He said holding his side.

Naruto stepped back realizing that Orochimaru was just playing everyone. "He's strong enough to make that threat?"

Han tried to sit up realizing that he didn't have has much power as he was used to with the curse seal on him. "He's not even human anymore. The jutsus he can perform no one should be capable of that."

Naruto nodded his head looking at the man. "What will you do now, you did just try to kill my family." He said coldly.

Han laid back down, "Maybe Roshi was right. Jinchurikis and Tailed Beasts need to learn to work together. Just seeing the power you possess by working with the Kyuubi is astounding." He coughed again feeling his lungs fill with blood from the impact. "I suppose I deserve this for what I did to him."

Naruto said nothing as he watched the large man lay on his back again. Naruto cut the chakra flow the cloak on his back disappearing as he sat beside the dying Han.

XXXX

Sakura was trying to give Sasuke more chakra when she saw Naruto slowly walking to the group before silently sitting away from everyone hiding his face and she was sure that he was crying. She wanted to go and check on him but she knew that Sasuke needed the help now, she felt a bit better when she saw Hinata sit next to him.

Naruto heard someone sit beside him and he could tell it wasn't Sakura so he didn't take his head out of his knees.

Hinata eyed the blond who had just been a part of a battle that would under most circumstances be considered legendary and enough to end a war, but this wasn't normal at all and things were going to get much worse. "If you hide your face like that you won't be able to face the next challenge." She said looking to the distance.

Naruto looked briefly at the Hyuuga princess who was looking away from him. "What do you mean?"

Hinata shrugged, "It's just that I've never seen you this beaten down before and neither have the other." She said looking at the group that was silent. "We all depend on your charisma to go and fight. If Naruto stopped looking ahead to the next challenge ready to take on the world if he had to then he wouldn't be Naruto Uzumaki anymore and the world needs him now more than ever." She said as she stood up and walked away from the exhausted blond who laid his head back and let sleep take him.


	62. Adequate

Obito was standing on the Rock and Rain border feeling the water droplets falling on his head and dripping off his hair onto the ground. He was watching the distance ahead to see if anything was happening. Gaara and the rest of the Sand forces were nearby watching the border to make sure that the Rock wasn't able to slip through.

Obito was here personally because he still felt he owed the Akatsuki, he knew the reason they fought originally was to protect the people of Rain so that nothing like the Second Ninja war where they were the primary battlefield could ever happen again. It wasn't until a time of peace when they started to oppose Hanzo and his dictatorship of the land.

"Lord Hokage." A Chunin said approaching with a scroll in his hands. "We received this message for you."

Obito nodded a thank you and took it. Obito felt his heart stop when he read what it had said. "You are not adequate." Only one person ever said those exact words to him and the Uchiha had thought he was dead. His eyes opened wide when he realized that Orochimaru must've brought back more than just Kakashi.

In a moment Obito saw the entire force decimated in front of him; they had all been impaled by roots and branches from a massive tree that had sprung out of the ground. He reacted just fast enough to dodge a root that had been coming his way. He quickly looked around trying to figure out what was happening when he looked up and saw two men standing on top of a cliff watching him.

"So, I take it that's the one you trained?" One of the men said to the other.

The other man simply nodded looking down below him. "I had trained him, but he left before I could finish putting things in motion."

"So even your eyes can't see everything than old friend?"

The man with long black hair closed his eyes for a moment trying to enjoy talking with his oldest friend and rival. "Unfortunately Hashirama he has grown into your position."

Hashirama looked at the man with a smile, "You're the Hokage?" He shouted to the still terrified Obito. "Which one are you?"

Obito gulped swallowing his fear, or as much as he was able. "The Sixth Hokage Obito Uchiha!" He said with pride looking at both his predecessors.

Hashirama smiled at the man, "Not only did I meet the Fourth but there's a sixth!"

Obito's eyes widened hearing that. "You met Minato sensei!"

Hashirama didn't get a chance to respond as a man in a hood walked up next to the two former rivals. "I think that's quite enough conversation." He looked to the two reanimated ninjas of legend before looking at Hashirama. "I want you to go and wipe out the Leaf Village forces in Grass, I believe that the Kyuubi jinchuuriki is there. Don't worry about him though I already have someone to handle him."

Obito was about to stop them when a wooden giant grew out of the ground and picked up the First Hokage and the hooded man. "Handle this Madara." He yelled never turning around.

Madara watched the man below him, "So not only are you the head of the Uchiha but you are the Hokage. Two of the greatest honors in the ninja world. Now show me if you've earned them."

Madara jumped down and the moment his legs hit the ground he ran forward to Obito, seeing the attack coming Obito phased through it and punched Madara in the stomach. "I'm not some kid Madara. I am Obito Uchiha head of the Uchiha clan, Sixth Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves and sensei of Team 7, I will not be defeated!"

The two Uchiha leaders looked at one another their Sharingan active at the same time. "I don't believe you Obito." Madara said, "You are still not adequate Obito, you do not possess the full power of you Mangekyo yet." He kicked Obito away and his eyes shifted to their alternate state. "This is the power of a true Uchiha Leader!" He shouted as a blue aura surrounded him.

Obito smiled at the massive blue warrior in front of him. "So this is the power you claim to have?"

Madara narrowed his eyes at the smiling man before him while Obito opened a rift beside him and the three Kage that were his allies appeared out of it. "This is the power I have!" Obito shouted with as much power as he could. "I have the power to unify the Great Nations to work together. All you were ever able to do was separate them and pit them against one another, but today I don't declare war instead I declare peace." He points at Madara, "Your way is dead Madara; your power means nothing now!"

Madara grinned taking in the sight of the new warriors before him, he could clearly see the raw strength the Raikage possessed, the Mizukage must be a woman of great skill if she claimed the position. And for a Kazekage so young to stand before him and show no fear is a credit to his people.

"Then we shall see which power prevails than Obito." Madara said letting his Susanoo fade and he ran at the Mizukage hoping that the Mist would have the weakest ninjas.

Mei saw the attack coming her way and put her fingers together and spewing the lava from her mouth.

Madara was about to jump over the attack and strike the group from behind when he felt himself pushed into the lava from behind. He knew that if he were still alive and in his normal body he would be in excruciating pain, he was only so careless because he was aware that his current body could regenerate.

Gaara formed the sand over Madara's back and stretched it out and scooping up the lava and putting it on the reanimated man. "He is powerful but overconfident, he does not comprehend what I am."

Madara heard the comment and understood immediately, the only being with the power to manipulate the sand like this was the Shukaku. "A tailed beast, now I understand."

Gaara grit his teeth and used the sand to cover the man leaving only his head not submerged by the standing sand.

Mei understanding what he had planned created more lava covering the sand and melting it into a glass, after enough lava had been applied she jumped into the air and performed the strongest water jutsu she knew drowning the area in water.

Obito uncovered his eyes and looked at Madara now encased completely in the molten glass, he looked to the Raikage and gave him a nod.

Not needing more of an invitation Ay charged his lightning armor and launched at the subdued Uchiha. "Lariat!" He screamed as his arm contacted Madara's head.

Obito let out a breath when he saw that Madara's head had been destroyed. "I owe you all one, if you hadn't showed up this could've ended badly." He said to the other Kage with a smile on his face.

They all froze however when they felt the surge of chakra come from Madara's body. The Susanoo reformed and towered over them all. Obito could see that Madara's head reformed following the attack. "If that is the extent of your power I am disappointed."

Obito looked from side to side, he knew what he had to do but he never wanted to do it because he thought it would push the boundaries of his mangekyo. "Kazekage, Raikage, Mizukage stand next to me!" Obito shouted.

Without a word, they all fell in beside their fellow Kage ready for whatever he had planned. "You want to see the power I possess than fine Madara I will show you everything I have!" Obito screamed as his mangekyo burned ahead of him.

Gaara watched as white chakra surrounded them all, "This is Susanoo." He said in shock realizing that Obito was also performing the legendary technique.

"Madara!" Obito screamed as he felt the insane amount of chakra his eyes were using.

"Obito!" Madara screamed as he swung his massive sword at the white construct in front of him.

Obito's Susanoo ducked under the attack that tore through the mountains in the area. Obito knew he wouldn't be able to hold this attack for very long when he felt hands on his shoulders. He looked to his right and saw Ay and Mei, to his left Gaara gave him a reassuring nod.

He screamed as he felt the power of their chakra being transferred into him and the Susanoo stood in its final form towering over everything around except the blue one in front of it.

Madara watched what was happening in front of him. For some reason he had never felt the control that Hashirama did and was not compelled by that man to do anything. Fighting Obito was something he had wanted to do of his own free will.

Madara brought his sword out of the Susanoo and held it for battle. Obito's pulled out a shuriken that matched the shape of his eyes.

In an instant Madara was swinging his sword at the massive construct, in response Obito threw his shuriken at the sword and its arm.

Madara felt his chakra drained away and the arm collapse onto the ground. "So is this all the power of you Susanoo then?"

Obito grinned taking another shuriken and launching it at the main part of the Susanoo, "Kamui!" Obito shouted as he warped the other Susanoo into his own dimension.

"You did it Hokage!" Ay said clapping Obito on the back.

"No he is still in that world." Obito said as his Susanoo faded and they all landed on the ground. "I thank you all for your help and it proved my point that we all need to work together. I will finish here, I need you all to go to the Grass border the First Hokage is there and he will cause problems for everyone there."

All three kages nodded. "We will amass our forces there." Mei said. "But you plan to face him alone, even after that speech about working with others?"

Obito nodded, "Madara is my problem, I can handle him it's the rest of the world that needs you." Obito said smiling at his peers. "Besides, my battle is going to be boring compared to what comes next." Not saying another word Obito swirled away into Kamui.

"We should assemble the jinchuuriki the tailed beasts have the best chance of stopping the First Hokage." Ay said looking over the group.

Gaara closed his eyes for a moment, "Last time they fought Shukaku lost to the First Hokage but that was because he fought alone. This time the tailed beasts will work together to end this!"

XXXX

Obito stood a few paces away from Madara staring down the resurrected warrior. "Now that it's just the two of us we finish this." Obito said taking his stance bending his knees and facing Madara with his body turned to the side. His right hand held behind his head and his left in front of him with an open palm to redirect any attacks.

Madara chuckled, "So I see that you have learned my fighting style, no matter I was never able to perfect it." He charged ahead at Obito ready to end the fight for good and strike for the heart.

Obito's Sharingan picked up on the attack and redirected Madara's fist into the ground, in the split second he had Obito performed a series of hand signs and then held his hands on opposite sides. In one hand a Rasengan formed and in the other lightning crackled to life. "These are the jutsus created by my sensei and my best friend." Obito pressed his hands against one another as the two attacks merged into one another. "Rasenchidori!" Obito shouted as he slammed it into Madara. "Full force storm!"

Madara flew from the place of the attack and slowly got to his feet his body no longer putting itself back together, instead beginning to glow.

"It seems that you do indeed possess great power." Madara said, "I suppose you are adequate." He made eye contact with Obito for a brief moment bringing him into a genjutsu.


	63. Ambush

Sasuke was watching the border again when he noticed people moving in the forward division. All he heard next was "Dynamic Entry!" Shouted by the two spandex clad ninjas. Realizing that meant they were under attack Sasuke stood up and was about to reach out to wake up the others when he heard the rumble of the earth beneath him.

He activated his Sharingan just in time to intercept the attacking ninja but he noticed that not everyone in his division reacted as quickly. He stuck his sword in the enemy ninja and moved on to aid the closest Leaf ninja.

In a blur Sasuke had cut through the ninja that had Shikamaru pinned to a tree. "Shikamaru we need to get everyone on their feet." Sasuke said to the shocked Nara.

Shikamaru nodded to Sasuke before he looked over and saw Ino about to be stabbed in the stomach, he was about to use his Shadow Possession when a blast of wind tore through the clearing slamming the ninja into a tree killing him with an unpleasant crunch.

Shikamaru saw that Sasuke had already moved on to help the others when someone landed next to him. "Well looks like I'm saving your ass again little boy." Temari smirked at Shikamaru who was relaxing knowing that if Temari was here so was the Sand.

Sasuke was about to end the life of the ninja that held Kiba down when he heard wood clattering around. He looked up and saw Kankuro sitting in a tree with his puppet falling on the Rock ninja and capturing him inside of its ribcage.

Sasuke helped Rin up to her feet and nodded to Kankuro who nodded back before sending his puppet to continue the battle.

"Where's Naruto?" Rin asked looking around knowing that the blond would be by far the loudest in the area.

Sasuke noticed the absence of the loud-mouthed ninja and felt himself start to sweat. They were able to get the drop on him and Rin, if they caught Naruto that may have been it for the jinchuuriki. "I'll find him you keep everyone else alive." Sasuke said to the kunoichi who nodded before jumping into the battle and slamming her fist into the chest of a Rock ninja launching him away.

Sasuke readied himself and ran to the spot he knew that Naruto had been sleeping last, when he got there he saw Sakura and Hinata fighting off ninjas guarding a still unconscious Naruto.

Hinata saw the attack coming and knew that at the moment Naruto was the most important person in the group and also the most vulnerable so she protected the blond and was joined by Sakura quickly.

She was about to cut the chakra flow to an enemies head when she noticed that it was no longer attached and moved on to another opponent as Sasuke dropped next to her and Sakura. "Why isn't the dobe awake?" Sasuke asked the two girls.

"It looks like chakra exhaustion." Sakura said punching another ninja away. "But he has more than enough chakra he shouldn't still be unconscious like this."

Sasuke nodded knowing that he needed to protect his brother and family now. "Sakura try and help him; Hinata cover me." Sasuke said as he closed his eyes and opened them in their mangekyo state and pumped chakra into them.

Hinata gasped when she saw the purple ribs made of pure chakra surround her and Sasuke as it began to grow into a full skeleton and then muscles grew over the bones and a shroud wrapped around it.

Sasuke could feel the hate of the massive purple chakra but pushed through and swung one of its massive arms knocking away a group of enemies. "Hinata you're my eyes tell me where to hit." Sasuke said to the Hyuuga who nodded activating her Byakugan.

"I count 300 in total between our camp and the forward division." She said looking around, she saw that her cousins team was still standing and cutting through the enemy. "There's a group of them trying to flank our rear!" Sasuke turned around and the Susanoo pulled a bow that was mounted on its wrist and as Sasuke screamed he fired a pure chakra arrow at the hidden ninjas.

Sakura was still pumping healing charka into Naruto but wasn't having any luck the only thing she could think of was that it was because of Kurama that he was still unconscious. "Sasuke I'm going to have to enter Naruto's mind, I will be defenseless!" She shouted to her now completely covered teammate.

"Just get him back!" Sasuke screamed as a massive purple fist crushed a Rock ninja on the ground. Sasuke heard Hinata gasp, "What is it?" He asked seeing the look on her face as she slowly looked at him.

"Be ready Sasuke." She said shaking. "Itachi is here."

Were it not for the focus he had gained from his brothers eyes the Susanoo would've failed hearing that. "Where is he?" He asked the fear clear in his voice.

Hinata pointed past the forward division, "He's there with another someone who has chakra similar to Naruto's."

Sasuke didn't hear the last part as he readied himself to go fight his brother. With a push he jumped out of the Susanoo as it collapsed and Hinata bent down to protect Naruto and Sakura. She looked around and saw that she was surrounded as she prepared her new jutsu she had been saving.

"Fang over Fang!" Came the shout that put Hinata at ease, she saw the chakra bugs crawl on the enemy as they pulled the charka out of their victims and they collapsed.

She looked to her sides as Kiba, Akamaru and Shino stood beside her. "We need to protect Naruto and Sakura!" She shouted as they nodded.

"Finally, time for me to show what I'm made of!" Kiba shouted punching his open palm.

Shino pushed his glasses up, "I suppose it is time for us to show that we are strong. Why you ask; because we are Team 8."

Hinata grinned seeing how fired up her teammates were, she saw a ninja quickly moving in to attack she jumped and met him in the air. "Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palms!" Hinata screamed hitting the man faster than anyone could notice.

Kiba and Akamaru bent down as Kiba became more animalistic looking and with a poof of smoke Akamaru appeared to take on the appearance of his partner. Kiba put his hands together in a seal, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He shouted as an identical version of himself appeared next to him.

He chuckled at the irony, "Using the goof ball's technique to protect him." He said looking back at the unconscious Naruto and Sakura. "Human Beast Mixture Transformation!" He shouted as all three of them jumped on one another and in a poof of smoke a massive three headed dog roared and spun forward decimating any enemies in its path.

Shino walks forward as he notices that ninjas surrounded him. "You think you have me right where you want me?" He asked the group who grinned and readied their weapons. Shino raised his hand out. "I feel sorry for you." He said as he lowered it back to his side and massive slugs fell on the ninjas. "Those slugs will drain you of all your chakra fast enough." He said walking away from the enemies.

XXXX

Sasuke stood in a barren field facing Itachi and another ninja he did not recognize. "Brother." Sasuke simply said to the man in front of him.

Itachi nodded still showing no emotion, he knew this wasn't the time to smile because he knew he was revived to fight Sasuke. "Hello Sasuke, has it been long?"

Sasuke shrugged seeing that Itachi was confused with everything that was happening. "Few weeks, we were able to stop Danzo and save the Leaf."

Itachi looked at the ground. "That is good, unfortunately Orochimaru wishes to see it destroyed and now he stands even greater than me."

Sasuke clenched his fist, "How could he surpass you?" He asked worry evident in his voice.

"He possesses the power of a god." The other ninja said next to Itachi. "The only thing he fears now is the jinchuuriki.

Sasuke nodded, "That's why he sent the Five Tails to battle Naruto, worst case scenario a jinchuuriki dies; best case two die."

Itachi nodded, "Exactly his thinking."

Sasuke couldn't hold it in any longer, "Brother I am sorry for the way I behaved after you came back!"

The other ninja ran past Sasuke without a word, the brothers paid it no mind and let her go. "I understood your need to distance yourself away from me Sasuke." Itachi said now avoiding eye contact. "I needed you to hate me so that you wouldn't resent your Uchiha heritage and reject the power of your family."

Sasuke felt the desire to cry but knew that on the battlefield he couldn't afford it. Instead he readied his blade and held it out ready to battle Itachi. "My eyes are stronger than yours now." Sasuke said as he activated his mangekyo.

Itachi smiled seeing the hero that his brother had become. "Sasuke promise me something." The younger Uchiha slowly nodded his head in understanding. "It is clear to me that you have people who care about you, never block them out. Have the life I never could and always wanted for you. Have a family, love a woman and cherish them with everything you have."

Sasuke couldn't resist the urge to smile as an image of a pale eyed woman came to mind. "Don't worry Itachi, after this war I plan to live my life for me." Sasuke said. Itachi readied his kunai and the two clashed in the middle.

Sasuke deflected his brothers weapon and readied his foot to kick but found he was already being kicked in the side. Sasuke looked and saw that while his eyes were stronger Itachi was still the better warrior. Using his strengths Sasuke pumped chakra into his eyes and saw the purple form of his Susanoo come to life and stand across from Itachi.

Itachi looked at the massive shade in front of him and felt the power of his conjurer force him to use the power of his eyes. His mangekyo came to life as red chakra surrounded him.

Sasuke saw that Itachi's Susanoo had reached the same level as his own. "One push Itachi, that will be what decides this battle!"

Sasuke pulled the bow on the Susanoo arm and aim it directly at Itachi knowing that he was already dead and that he needed to let his brother rest in peace.

Itachi's Susanoo formed his strongest attack in its palm. "Yasaka Beads!" Itachi screamed as the projectiles were thrown.

Sasuke screamed as the bow was released and he used his extra power to cover the arrow in the Amaterasu. The beads slammed into Sasuke's Susanoo shattering it but leaving him standing. He kept up the power he needed and the arrow pierced through Itachi's hitting his reanimated body and the fire began to burn.

Sasuke watched as the red Susanoo faded and Itachi smiled at his brother. "It seems that you truly surpassed me Sasuke."

Sasuke held back the emotions he was feeling he was still on the battlefield. "Its because of your eyes that I have this much power." Sasuke said.

Itachi nodded, "It's also because of the bonds you possess. Don't make my mistakes your own. Love with everything you have, and remember that family doesn't always mean blood."

Sasuke sniffled for a moment as Itachi faded away into nothingness in a bright light. "Thank you brother, for everything."


	64. The Face of Hatred

Sakura looked around and saw that she wasn't in the place she knew was Naruto's normal mindscape. This place seemed much nicer, the water still came to her ankles but the lighting was much less off putting She turned around and felt her heart skip a beat.

In front of her stood the form of the Five Tails talking with Naruto. She stayed quiet not sure what was happening when she also noticed Kurama was standing next to the blond.

"So he wants me to be the one?" Naruto asked confused now looking at both of the Biju in front of him.

Kokuo nodded, "He knows you are the only one who can handle this power."

"But what about Sasuke?" Asked a shocked Naruto.

Kurama shook his head, "The Biju do not trust him like they do you. You are the only one, not even the other jinchuurikis took the time to discover more about their tenants until you approached them."

Naruto smiled rubbing his head, "Except Bee."

Kurama grumbled at that. "Yes Bee and Gyuki are unique. But now we need to focus on the plan."

Naruto nodded, "Right…" He paused for a moment. "Which is?"

Everyone else in the room was flabbergasted at the blond, Kokuo was staring down in disbelief, Kurama was looking away in embarrassment and Sakura was resisting the urge to go over and knock some sense into him.

Kurama looked forward, "You can come forward vixen." He said to the air, "Kokuo and I were aware of you the moment you entered this realm."

Naruto was about to question what the fox was talking about when he heard her talk. "I'm sorry to interrupt but I needed to wake up Naruto."

The blond jinchuuriki happily looked to Sakura. "Hey Sakura how did you get in here?" He asked looking around for the nonexistent entrance.

Sakura shook her head, "Never mind that we are under attack and we need your help!"

Kurama and Kokuo made eye contact for a moment, "He's ready." The horse said to the fox.

Naruto was about to question what was going on when the room become much brighter than it had been before.

XXXX

Naruto got up and looked around quickly at the battlefield that was once their campsite. He saw all his friends except for Sasuke fighting off overwhelming numbers of Rock and Sound ninjas.

Sakura stood up as Hinata jumped next to her. "Glad you could join us pinky." She saw that Naruto was awake too. "At least it wasn't a wasted effort."

"Unfortunately, I am going to need him to go back to sleep." Came a voice that Hinata knew all too well.

"Kabuto." She spat looking at the hooded man. "You can't have him!" She screamed the veins near and in her eyes bulging.

Kabuto chuckled looking at the two girls in front of him when his attention turned to Sakura. "Ah the future Mrs. Uzumaki, I believe I have brought you the perfect opponent." He said and with a snap of his fingers a woman dropped next to him.

Naruto gasped seeing who it was, "Mom." Was all he was able to get out.

Sakura turned back and looked at the shocked Naruto. "You piece of shit." Sakura said cracking her knuckles.

Hinata put her arm in front of Sakura, "You handle her. Kabuto is mine." She said the hate lining her voice.

Sakura wanted to pummel the hooded man but instead choose to fight the Naruto's read headed mother. The two ran off into the distance to get into the open.

Hinata narrowed her eyes at the man in front of her with a stunned Naruto behind her. "Naruto start fighting or get out of here!" She yelled getting him to wake up.

Kabuto hummed in disapproval, "Can't have Naruto out in the battlefield right now sadly." He looked and knew that now was not the time to pull his trump card on the blond so he simply snapped his fingers and a group of Sound ninjas dropped next to him. "Whoever brings me the head of Naruto Uzumaki will live a life of luxury in the world that Lord Orochimaru creates!"

The group ran up and began their battle with Naruto while Hinata just stared at the man in front of her. "This won't end like last time."

Kabuto chuckled, "Last time we fought you told me that Sasuke would never turn his back on his family, which is exactly what happened. It seems that even with your all seeing eyes you cannot see the truth."

"And what truth is that?"

"The truth about your own weakness." Kabuto said back. "You draw solely on the power of others for your strength of will and hate yourself for it; and that is why you will always lose against me."

"You rely on the power of dead people and Orochimaru!" Hinata snapped back.

"But I have come to terms with who I am." Kabuto said throwing his hood off. Hinata was now able to get a good look at him and his pale scaly skin. "Face it Hyuuga, you hate yourself because you think you are weak!"

Hinata closed her eyes, "You're right, I do rely on other people to make me stronger. At first I compared myself to my sister, than to Sakura, after that I set my eyes on keeping up with Sasuke. And finally I have desired to see you defeated by my own hand, I don't rely on others for strength but for drive." As she said the last words blue chakra erupted from her hands like a fire that took the shape of lions in her hands. "Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists!" She screamed at the snake like man.

"Let's see if you have the power to defeat a sage than." Kabuto said bending down so that his hands were on the ground.

XXXX

Sakura stood across from the woman in front of her. She was dressed in what looked like casual clothes a house wife would wear. "So you're Naruto's mother." Sakura said looking at the woman.

Kushina nodded at the pink haired girl, "I am Naruto's mother yes. I don't want any of this." She said looking at the battlefield and the destruction it was causing. "Who are you? When I first saw you, you were sleeping on my son."

Sakura held her hand out without saying anything to the red head who clearly understood the meaning. "I had hoped Naruto would find someone that loved him." Kushina said with a smile, "And a student of Rin I see."

Sakura was about to wonder what gave it away but her stance was the exact same one her teacher used. "Lady Rin and Lady Tsunade taught me." Sakura said with pride.

Kushina nodded, "I owe Rin a thank you for taking care of my son." She said smiling, "I am sorry but I'm about to attack." Kushina said and the next moment she launched at Sakura hitting her with all her might sending Sakura sailing through the air.

Regaining her footing Sakura looked in front of her. "Thankfully you don't hit as hard as either Lady Tsunade or Lady Rin."

Kushina rubbed the back of her head, "Yeah unfortunately I quit my ninja career shortly before Minato became the Hokage."

Sakura nodded understanding that her opponent was never able to reach her full potential. "So, you aren't that strong?" Sakura asked the woman.

Kushina looked away from her future daughter in law. "I'm sorry but no human would be able to escape my ultimate ability."

Sakura was about to question what she had meant by that when with a scream from Kushina the ground split around her as massive golden chains flew at Sakura faster than she could react. With a wet thump, Sakura looked down at the chains now embedded in her stomach.

Kushina looked at the girl and gasped.

XXXX

Hinata dodged a strike from Kabuto knowing that any one of his attacks would disable wherever he hit. But her fighting style worked the same way except Kabuto was an expert medical ninja and may be able to overcome a closed charka point.

In a flourish Hinata ducked under a strike and put her hand on the ground to spring over the snake sage. "Give it up you freak!" Hinata snapped as she brought her foot to his face only to scream in pain as he bit into her ankle.

Hinata fell to the ground struggling to keep her chakra lions active. "That poison I infected you with will kill you in minutes."

Hinata jabbed her finger in a spot on her ankle causing it to hold stiff. "Then I guess I only have minutes to beat you." With a scream, she pushed out even more chakra into her hands and the lions grew. "I took this attack from Might Gai. He calls it his daytime tiger, I prefer the name Night Lion!" She shouted throwing her hands forward.

Kabuto grinned seeing that her chakra didn't reach him but the alarm bells of his instincts caught his attention as he saw the chakra heading towards him. "How can you control the chakra after its left your hand?"

Hinata heard the snake sage scream in pain as the charka pressed him against a tree and buried his body in it. She looked and saw that he was still breathing and his sage mode had faded leaving him stuck and unconscious.

Without warning she felt her body loss its balance as she fell but she never felt the hard ground instead she felt the warmth of someone's body.

XXXX

Kushina stared forward at Sakura who was holding the chain that was imbedded in her abdomen as she pushed it out. "A Yin Seal." She said aloud as with a scream Sakura pushed the chain out of her body as it shattered.

Sakura felt the wound closing itself as she stood again. The seal grew over her body and covered her in lines just like her master's seals. "My name is Sakura Haruno, Student of Rin Uchiha and Tsunade Senju the Fifth Hokage, this is the power they have bestowed to me and I will use this power to protect those I love!"

Kushina smiled as she saw the pink haired girl charge forward and slammed her fist into the red heads face launching her through the air, without waiting another moment Sakura followed her legs moving faster than they ever had before. As she caught up with her opponent she drove her fist into her stomach. With one final push Sakura leaped into the air passing Kushina on the way up and as she slowed she charged all of the chakra she could into her fist and with a shout slammed it into Kushina's back.

The ground beneath them split upon the impact as Sakura gently landed on the ground near the crater than now held Kushina. Sakura gasped when she saw that Kushina was glowing a golden color. "I see that Naruto has found someone just like me." Kushina said earning a blush from Sakura.

"Thank you, Sakura, please take care of my son." Kushina said as a tear escaped her eye.

Sakura nodded to the woman as she faded away. "You have my word."

The seal on Sakura's forehead faded and regained its normal diamond shape on her forehead.

She wobbled on her feet a bit when she felt someone embrace her. "I see meeting my mother didn't go so bad." Naruto said holding Sakura in his arms. He had seen most of the fight but had trusted Sakura to handle herself.

"I'm so sorry Naruto." Sakura said as she turned around and cried into his jacket. "You barely got to speak with her."

Naruto lifter her chin and looked at her smiling before wiping a tear away. "I already talked to her."

XXXX

 _The last thing Naruto remembered was being stabbed by Danzo and falling to the ground in front of him and Tsunade. He looked around the mind scape and saw Kurama watching him intently. "You have a very important choice to make her Naruto." The massive fox creature said. "Either you release the seal that binds me or you die and I fade away for the time being."_

 _Naruto felt the strength he had weakening, "What happens if I let you go?" Naruto asked not liking either option but not wanting to die._

 _Kurama chuckled, "You will no longer be restricted like you have been. You will feel the full force of my power."_

 _Naruto felt his stomach drop, "But then I'll destroy everything." Naruto said looking at the massive fox._

 _Kurama slowly nodded, "That is a very real possibility. You don't often show it but you still carry hate in your heart; hate for the villagers who scorned you, hate for the man who stabbed you. Most of all you hate Orochimaru for taking your mother and father away from you."_

 _Naruto turned from the fox when he saw someone that looked just like him staring back. "This is precious. I waited for you to fully embrace the power of this monster so that we can finally kill the man who threatens our family. How many people do you need to see killed before you realize that you need to accept your responsibilities? We are the jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi the most powerful of the Biju and we watch in our mortal body as mere men take from us."_

 _Naruto was stunned silent as the mirror image of himself continued. "Next Obito will fall, I mean he is the brave fool who risked himself for the village repeatedly. I expect after that Rin will fall into despair and lose herself to grief most likely taking the life of her child before her own. And Sasuke will be left alone with the knowledge that everyone he loves is dead, but don't mind me this is all your decision. I just don't want to see them hurt either."_

 _Naruto had heard enough, "Don't talk about them like you know them?" He screamed as his chakra seeped out._

 _The mirror image scoffed, "Know them? I have been with you from the very beginning. I remember every stare that you ignored and every moment of loneliness you tried to hide away from. I never forget Naruto because I am the thing that you fear most, I am the result of all your pain and hurting." He raised his arms up, "I am what you truly are but don't have the courage to be!"_

 _Naruto looked down knowing that part of what he had heard was true. "You're right, I do still resent the villagers for pushing me away just because of what I am. Most never even took the time to learn about what kind of person I am." He said rubbing the scars on his cheeks._

 _The mirror image smiled feeling its victory close at hand. "Just submit into your hate and let it all flow through you." He pointed to the seal on the cage. "Just rip that off and open it, no one else has to die like Jiraiya!"_

 _Naruto wobbled over to the seal feeling that if he did this at least he would be able to stop Danzo. He felt the water lift him up until he was right in front of the seal when he heard the ringing of chains. He turned around and saw that golden chains had bound his mirror image._

 _Kurama let out a sigh recognizing the chakra. "Finally," He said looking to where he knew his former host would be._

 _Naruto looked around and felt his own hands bound by chains as he was yanked to the ground with a thud. He tried pulling his hands up but the chains were holding them on the ground. "Y'know I was hoping you would be able to hold out a bit longer." Came a kind voice._

 _Naruto looked up and saw a woman with long red hair scowling at him. "I mean c'mon there is no way that my son is going to let this negativity bring him down."_

 _Naruto froze in shock, he had read about her in his father's journal but seeing her in front of him left the boy speechless. "Mom?" Naruto slowly said._

 _Kushina smiled pointing to herself, "The one and only." She looked over at the struggling mirror image and then to Kurama who was watching intently. "And you were just going to let this happen?" She asked the massive fox._

 _Kurama growled at the woman. "Watch it vixen, I already have to put up with how disrespectful your kit is."_

 _Kushina looked down to her son and mockingly rubbed his cheek. "Not my little Naruto."_

 _Naruto couldn't hold himself back and the chains were the only thing stopping him now. "Mom." Naruto said tears forming in his eyes and a smile on his face._

 _Kushina snapped her fingers and the golden chains holding her son down released and he jumped and brought her into a massive hug. "I'm so happy I got to meet you! Big Brother Obito and Big Sister Rin were never allowed to tell me about you until I found out about you and dad."_

 _He started to cry in her arms as Kushina rubbed the top of his head. "You seem so young, and you've already had to do so much." She looked at her son who was just crying in her arms. This was something that she had missed his entire life, holding him as he cried. She would rather hold him when he was happy but this was also part of being a mother._

 _Kushina pushed him away just enough to look at him, "Kyuubi and I can't help you until you beat him." Kushina said pointing to the mirror. "I'm going to let him go and after that you're on your own." Naruto looked at her with worry in his eyes. "I'll be here when you finish."_

 _Naruto nodded and walked to the mirror as the chains around it faded. "Ah so mom is finally going to let us settle this."_

 _Naruto stared at the thing in front of him. "I don't really know what you are but I am going to beat you!" With a shout, he charged forward their arms clashing the force of the blow pushing all the water away from them._

 _They both pulled their fists back slamming them into the face of their opposite. "Come now you can't really expect someone as simple as us to be able to protect them all? Sakura and Sasuke were always smarter than us. Sasuke only cares about us because he has no one else, he's just as broken as the two of us. Sakura thinks that taking care of us will make her seem like a better person when all she is, is a useless ninja that holds the rest of us back."_

 _Naruto had heard enough as he ran forward engaging himself in combat, the two matched one another blow for blow the other never landing a strike. Naruto noticed this and realized that his opponent was himself so fighting like he normally did wouldn't work. He stood straight up and brought his right hand up to his lips extending his index and middle finger up._

 _He charged forward using all the techniques he had seen growing up. Obito's redirection of attacks. Sasuke's sudden strikes that came from nowhere. Both fighters met in the middle throwing attacks that ripped into the other one. Had they been flesh and blood their hands would've been covered in the stuff._

 _"_ _This is the power of the love my friends have given me!" Naruto shouted as he backed away forming a Rasengan in his hand. It spun almost as if it had a will of its own. The chakra inside of it didn't seem to be his own either, he could feel them; Obito, Rin, Sasuke, Sakura, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Nagato and all the others giving him strength to overcome his hate._

 _The mirror reached its own hand out. "Now we really see which is stronger, your love or your hate!" It screamed as it charged at Naruto who did the same._

 _When the attacks mixed Naruto saw all the things that the mirror had talked about. He saw himself surrounded by all the people who hated his very existence. He saw the pain that was caused to his loved ones and the faces of those who did it. He saw Pain stabbing Jiraiya. He saw Orochimaru sinking his fangs into Sasuke. He saw the deaths of the people he knew weren't really dead but standing over their corpses Orochimaru laughed._

 _He was about to stop when he heard a faint voice. "Dobe." Came the first voice as he saw Sasuke standing beside him against the snake. Naruto noticed that Sasuke's body was now missing from the pile._

 _"_ _Baka." Came the next voice as Sakura stood beside him as well. He saw that her body was gone._

 _"_ _You've got this." Came Rin's voice as she stood behind him smiling, her body now missing as well from the space near Orochimaru._

 _"_ _Sorry I'm late." Came the cheery voice of Obito._

 _Naruto looked around and saw that all his friends were around him and Orochimaru had nothing._

 _With a final push Naruto put everything he had into the Rasengan forcing the mirror to dissipate. Naruto turned to his mother. "I think you have something you need to handle out there." She said as Naruto remembered the attack on the village._

 _Without wasting another moment Naruto leaped up removing the tag from the cage and unlocking the seal. "Alright Kurama, let's show them what we're made of!" Naruto shouted as he felt the power rush through his body._

 _XXXX_

Sakura held onto Naruto as he finished his story about how he had indeed spoken to his mother. "When I told her about you she lit up." He said holding her close.

He looked in the distance and heard the rumbling and knew that meant it was time to get back. "Come on Sakura we need to help the others." Naruto said taking her hand as they ran to the battlefield.


	65. 40 Tails

Sasuke looked at the battlefield and all of the ninjas that were being cut down, luckily it seemed that with the Sand arriving to help most if not all of the deaths were Rock or Sound ninjas. But he knew it was just a matter of time before another reanimated ninja showed up, and if he knew Orochimaru they were only going to get stronger from here.

He felt Hinata stir in his arms, Rin had been able to pull the venom out of her leg and close the wound but she had used a great deal of charka in that final attack. Sasuke stopped when he heard a crack and saw the hundreds of branches fall from the sky impaling anyone in their way. Sasuke and Hinata would've been one of them if it weren't for Neji jumping in the way and using Palm Rotation.

"I owe you one Neji." Sasuke said looking at the Hyuuga.

Neji scoffed, "I did it for Lady Hinata." Using his Byakugan he examined the battlefield and the pieces of wood that impaled many ninjas friend and foe. "It looks like the wood has chakra inside of it.

Sasuke looked up, "That's impossible, wood style was the ability used by the First Hokage and he's sealed away."

Without another word Sasuke pulled his sword up and stopped the branch that rushed at him and Hinata. He turned to Neji, "Get her out of here!"

Neji hated to do it but he knew Sasuke was much more efficient in this battle and he would only be distracted if Hinata was here. He picked her up and was about to run off when he felt Sasuke grab his arm. "Keep her safe, you promise me!" Sasuke said staring at the Hyuuga.

Neji didn't want to admit it but Sasuke did care for Hinata and that moment proved it. "With my life."

That was all Sasuke needed to hear as he stood up and ran into the carnage he cut through as many ninjas as he could waiting for the next strike of wood but it never came and that worried him.

XXXX

Rin was trying to save the life of a Chunin boy that was even younger than Naruto and Sasuke. The wood in his chest seemed to expand after impact sealing itself into place. She knew that the moment she removed it he would die, and if she left it there he would live a few more hours; but they would be the most agonizing hours of his life.

Knowing that this would be best she readied her strength and grabbed the root and gave it one strong pull. With a scream the light in his eyes faded into nothingness and he went limp on the ground.

Rin heard a noise that chilled her blood, the sound of a thousand birds. She stood to her feet prepared for this. She had read Gai's report and had expected that she would see him again. "Hello Kakashi." She said turning and seeing the masked face of her former teammate.

"I'm sorry Rin." Kakashi said his jutsu fading. "For everything, I let the resentment I felt as a child fester and become hatred. It was why Orochimaru was able to control me, but if I could do it all again, I would do it the same way."

Rin gasped hearing that, "I saw the symbol on your back the last time I saw you Rin Uchiha." He said doing a gentle eye smile. "Because of me the two of you were able to live a happy life together."

"But you lost your chance!" Rin exclaimed angry at the world right now.

Kakashi thought for a moment before the perfect words came to him. "Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." Rin gasped hearing the words her husband would always say. "Obito taught me that lesson and it is the reason I can look at you now and smile instead of feeling regret and pain. Even in the end you and Obito were there for me, and I knew it broke his heart to do it. I just hope this makes it so you don't see me as scum."

Rin rubbed the tears out of her eyes and pulled a small picture out of her pocket. Kakashi could see it clearly with his implanted Sharingan. "You had a baby." He said happy that they could have a family.

Rin nodded her head proudly, "He's our pride and joy. The future head of the Uchiha Clan, Kakashi Uchiha."

Kakashi's eyes widened at hearing that, "You named him after me?" He said pointing to himself still not believing it.

Rin smiled with pride. "Me and Obito knew what his name should be the moment we saw him. We named him after our best friend." She said holding the tears back.

Kakashi looked at the ground as he wondered to himself if reanimated bodies could cry and his questioning stopped as he felt the tears fall from his face. "Thank you, Rin, I just have one last thing to ask of you." Rin stared ahead ready to do whatever it was. "You win this war, you win this war and you live your life and raise your son."

Without another word Kakashi started to glow a bright golden color. "Tell the others, if a reanimation is sealed or comes to peace it will fade away. Besides that, the only other way to stop us is to kill Orochimaru."

Rin nodded as Kakashi was no longer in front of her and had faded away with the wind.

XXXX

With a deep breath, he cocked his fist back having obtained all of the nature energy he was forced to, he jumped into the air and landed on the ground expanding his chakra out and killing everything. He may have been forced to kill Leaf ninjas but no one had said anything about not killing Rock or Sound.

He looked as Leaf ninjas surrounded him, "I am so sorry for all of this!" He shouted looking at his people, "This is all because of me and that fact that I could not do enough in my life. I want you to fight me with everything you have in you like the Leaf Ninjas you are!"

Shikamaru stood a bit away having heard the words of the First Hokage and terrified of the idea of having to face him. He calmed when he looked on one side and saw his team beside him and to the other Temari stood. "Troublesome. Ino I need to get a message to everyone in this field!"

With a nod the Yamanaka readied the technique to speak with everyone she possibly could as she felt Shikamaru's hand on her shoulder she activated the jutsu connecting to everyone's minds.

"We are going to lose this fight." Shikamaru said not sugar coating it. "But we can hold him back long enough so that reinforcements can arrive. 'When the tree leaves dance, one shall find flames. The fire's shadow will illuminate the village, and once again, tree leaves shall bud anew.'" Shikamaru transmitted knowing that every Leaf Ninja knew the poem the village was founded upon.

Hashirama smiled at what has become of his village, he had been included in the transmission as well but it made him swell with pride that something he created gave people the strength to charge to their own deaths for the sake of others. He felt the push again and jumped into a crowd of ninjas and kicked one as he landed and punched another away.

He saw a blade coming for his face that he ducked under his hand reaching out and grabbing the hilt of the sword as he ripped it away from its owner and stabbing him with it.

He felt himself bound for a moment as he saw a massive fist slamming into him launching him out of the crowd. "Ino now!" He heard as he saw a blonde woman throw a kunai with an explosive tag at him that set off a chain reaction where he landed explosions began to surround him.

Shikamaru watched knowing that would never be enough to stop the First, even if it was his human body but now he could recover from nearly any attack. His breath caught in his throat as he saw a massive wooden golem stand from the place the First had been knocked.

Shikamaru turned and looked around when he saw Choji scream and blue chakra wings formed out of his back, "Choji don't!" Shikamaru yelled.

"Expansion jutsu!" Choji shouted as his body became as big as the golem. Not wasting a minute because he knew this ability wouldn't last long he swung his fist into the behemoth knocking it back. Spotting Hashirama riding on the forehead of the wooden beast, he ran forward tackling it to the ground demolishing a forest, he brought both of his fists down onto Hashirama with all his might.

He felt the reanimated man crush under his fists but without warning he was kicked off of the golem crashing through the landscape, he felt his body give and start to shrink again.

Shikamaru looked around not seeing any way out of this, he closed his eyes when he heard a massive explosion, he looked up and saw Rin Uchiha punching Hashirama away from the other forces.

Regaining his sense Hashirama looked up and saw a brunette woman standing in front of him. "I admire your courage but it is foolish to fight me alone."

Rin held her battle stance, "I'm never alone." She said as she brought her fist into the ground, it split from the impact and out of the cracks corral grew and held Hashirama in place. The seal on her forehead spread over her body, as she hoped Isobu was willing to help her some more she slammed her fist with everything she had into the First Hokage destroying his head.

She jumped back knowing the fight wasn't over, she felt the power building in her stomach that she knew was Isobu. She heard the wind land next to her when she looked at saw Gaara. "The First Hokage." The young Kazekage said looking ahead, "In his life he was able to defeat all nine of the biju. But he never tried to face them all at once.

In a rush of wind the eight jinchuuriki stood in a line. Yugito stood between Gaara and Rin followed by a man with red hair and a Rock symbol on his hat that she decided to ignore, after him a man with a blue kimono watched silently. Next to him a young girl with green hair smiled looking at everyone around her. A large dark skinned man was next wearing his numerous swords on his back. Finally, Naruto grinned wildly as the First Hokage reformed.

"Well I never thought I would see this, who was able to unite not only the jinchuuriki but the biju as well?" He asked knowing with his sage chakra that the beasts were feeding chakra into their hosts.

The others all smiled at Naruto who rubbed the back of his head. "It was nothing really, I just wanted to help people like me and all of Kurama's siblings." He heard the fox scoff at his name being used so freely.

"It seems that it was wise for Sarutobi to become the Hokage. I can see the Will of Fire burning in all of you, even those from other nations and you all are the embodiment of what I wanted when I started the village system. A place where people could live and cooperate with one another safely, and seeing people from all these different nations from varying classes I can say that it seems to have worked."

Without being able to say another word he extended his right arm forward with an open palm and his left hand wrapped around it as he shouted. "Wood Dragon Jutsu!" Behind him a massive dragon made of wood launched at the jinchuuriki who jumped out of the way.

"Let it all go." Said the Tailed Beasts to their hosts, and with a nod they all agreed. In a flash of chakra 8 of the tailed beasts all stood before the First Hokage.

Kurama bared his teeth for the first time being with this many of his siblings, he knew Kokuo would want to be here as well but they had to stick to the plan. "Hit him with everything!" He shouted as he saw the First preparing for his ultimate attack.

The tailed beasts opened their mouths as they saw the massive Buddha and all the hands behind it. The chakra began to gather and form the massive black orbs that were known as Tailed Beast Bombs.

Hashirama screamed as he was pushed to attack with everything he had, the hands started to move forward right as the tailed beasts fired their attacks.

The resulting clash destroyed miles of land leaving a wasteland where the attacks had collided. Naruto trudged through the ash in the air, using the power of his chakra cloak he could sense that the others were all still alive and for now he needed to find the First Hokage and stop him. He had figured out that they could be sealed and had made a seal after Sakura fought his mother.

Through the ash that was in the air he saw two figures, one was clearly the First Hokage based on the hair and armor and his chakra signature. But the other person Naruto couldn't quite place, his chakra seemed familiar but it wasn't. In the silence the First Hokage faded away leaving only the one man.

Naruto walked through the thick air and his eyes widened when he saw who was in front of him.


	66. Hear You Me

"Dad?" Naruto asked looking at his father's back. "You can't be here, he can't do this!" Naruto shouted the chakra coming off his cloak lashing out.

Minato resisted the urge to smile at seeing his son and the power that he was releasing. But he also saw the raw pain that was in his eyes.

"It's not fair!" Naruto screamed. "Why did he have to bring you and mom back?"

Minato's head dropped hearing the reason his son was so upset. "I'm sorry Naruto, he's taken the choice away from me."

Naruto nodded releasing his chakra cloak and staring daggers at his father. "I have to stop you." Naruto said. "I'm sorry for what comes next." He said fishing out two Hirashin kunai dropping one by his feet and throwing the other one at Minato.

Naruto appeared in front of Minato and was about to slam his fist into the reanimated kage's face when he disappeared in a flash of light. Naruto fell onto the ground the momentum of his punch throwing him off balance.

He dusted away the ash looking back towards his father who was holding the other Hirashin kunai. "So I see you figured it out." He said looking at the blade with pride. "I had hoped the be the one to teach you, but it looks like you figured it out yourself. I suppose you had to do that a lot growing up." He said rubbing the back of his head with his free hand.

Naruto stiffened up, "No I had Big Brother Obito and Big Sister Rin to help me." Naruto said still unhappy with the situation. "The Hirashin was one of the few things I had to teach myself, Obito was able to teach me something." He said with a wicked grin.

In a flash, he appeared behind Minato in a spot he had marked after the Tailed Beast strike with a Rasengan in hand. "Rasengan!" Naruto screamed as he slammed it into his father's back.

Minato pushed himself up starting to get excited. When he found out his child was going to be a boy one of his first thoughts was how cool it would be to spar with his son. "Not bad, but you do know that Orochimaru is going to be pushing me to kill you. That means you can't hold anything back." He said sternly.

Naruto felt a bead of sweat on his neck, after that last blast he knew Kurama needed time to recharge so he was going to rely on his own abilities for the time being.

He nodded his head at his father. If he used the Hirashin any kunai or places he marked his father would be able to us as well. Luckily Naruto had already set up his ace in the hole that he was going to have to save for just the right moment.

Minato readied his kunai, he was trying to avoid thinking of how to beat his son because he knew that the reanimation would force him to do something like that. So instead he just tried to focus on the boy's determination.

Naruto threw a bunch of kunai into the air and he and his father warped from blade to blade as they flew through the air, each one catching a kunai and throwing it before warping to another location neither landing a blow.

They landed on the ground with the volley of kunai and Naruto was panting from exhaustion, he had never teleported that many times in that short a time span.

Minato rolled his shoulders, he knew that if he was in his human body he would probably look just as exhausted as Naruto does now. "I'm curious Naruto, how is the village?"

Naruto kept his battle stare because he knew if he released it he would show the pain he was feeling at having to fight his own father like this. "It was safe during my childhood. After I became a genin though that was when Orochimaru began to act on his plans. First he bit my best friend Sasuke with his curse mark messing with his mind for years, then he tricked the Sand into attacking the village head on during the Chunin exams where I was promoted. That's when I met Jiraiya and he started to train me with seals."

Minato smiled at the thought that at least his son had people there for him. "And is there a special woman in your life?" He asked crossing his arms wondering if he was going to have grandkids.

Naruto kept his resolve and became more defensive. "I'm engaged." He said shocking Minato, "Me and her were on the same genin team." He didn't want to get into too many details just in case.

The blond Hokage freely smiled at the thought that his son was happy in life. "I'm sorry for what happened Naruto, I should've been there to see you grow up."

"Yes, you should have." Naruto said with anger in his voice. "And Orochimaru will pay for every moment when I wondered where my parents were."

Minato nodded knowing the pain his son had to endure most have been unimaginable. "The sooner you handle me the sooner you can finish him. But I have to warn you the power he has now, it would take a miracle to stop him."

Expecting as much Naruto tossed the kunai forward and it sunk in between him and his father. In a flash they were both at the kunai throwing blows at one another, Naruto landed a solid blow on Minato knocking him back a bit. "Even with everything that I have had to endure I wouldn't trade any of it. Obito, Rin, and Sasuke are my family and that is what they will always be to me!"

Minato nodded seeing the determination and courage in his son's eyes filled him with pride. In another moment he was behind Naruto delivering a kick to the boys back. With a scream Naruto pushed himself onto his feet and sprung back both of his feet hitting Minato's chest.

Naruto pushed the moment he had and turned on his heel with a Rasengan in hand slamming the ball into his father's chest forcing him to the ground.

Minato teleported away from the blow and felt the fake flesh of his reanimation repairing the hole in his chest. He blinked as Naruto teleported away and landed a punch to the back of his head. Minato felt the push compelling him to fight back, he jumped into the air with a Rasengan in each hand. He aimed them at Naruto who side stepped the attack and ducked under the swing Minato gave next holding the Rasengans in his hands like a weapon.

Seeing the methods that were being used Naruto backed up farther for a moment racking his brain with an attack strategy. He already had to pay attention to every Hirashin kunai knowing that his dad could use any of them at will. He opened his eyes and with a shout charged at the Fourth holding nothing back as he jumped hitting the man in the chin. Minato spun around from the blow and jumped back slamming a Rasengan into Naruto's stomach.

Pushing himself up Naruto charged back ducking under the kunai strike of his father and jabbing at the man's side. Minato brought his elbow down on Naruto's arm in a single motion.

Naruto yanked his arm back before it could be broken and jumped into the air over his father trying to kick the man but not landing the blow as Minato had leaned backwards. He saw the foot sailing past him he grabbed the ankle bringing Naruto back slamming him into the ground. He picked Naruto up again slamming him into a rock formation.

XXXX

Rin slowly stood to her feet and saw the other Jinchurikis except for Naruto who she could tell was fighting in the distance. She forced herself to her feet, she could tell that she had used all of Isobu's chakra as well as the chakra she had reserved in her seal. She was about to fall back when she felt someone catch her.

"Way to put on a show." Came the voice that caused her to instantly relax.

"You shouldn't be here." She said trying to stand on her own but couldn't find the strength to do it.

"Yeah you and the boys get to be out here having your legendary battles, while I sit behind a desk." He said with a snarky tone of voice. "Besides they are still my team." His ears were drawn to what he was hearing in the distance. "Why do I sense Naruto twice?" He asked trying to ignore the other possibility.

Rin looked at her husband and saw the fear in his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Obito looked to her with a serious face she knew meant what he said next was going to be important. "The entire reanimation is linked to Orochimaru, if he is stopped so are the dead ninjas. Besides that they need to be sealed." He pulled a scroll out of the air that swirled beside him. "Use these and the reanimations will fail."

"Obito what?" She asked before being cut off by Obito capturing her lips. "You better come back to me." She said with fire in her eyes.

Obito smiled softly to her, "I always do."

XXXX

Sasuke ran through the area to where he knew Naruto was, everyone had seen the Tailed Beasts battle the First Hokage, and he knew that Naruto was still most likely be there. He pushed his legs harder because he had also seen the Three Tails and that meant Rin was there too.

He came up to the ash filled area and using his Sharingan he was able to see through it and where the massive cluster of chakra that he knew meant the Jinchuuriki was.

"Obito." Sasuke said coming up next to the Hokage. "The Reanimations I know how to stop them."

Obito nodded, "So do I. I was able to stop Madara."

Sasuke's eyes went wide hearing that when he looked forward and could see Naruto pinned to a rock formation and a ninja standing over him with a kunai. "Naruto!" He screamed as he started running.

XXXX

Naruto opened his eyes drifting in and out of consciousness he saw his father above him with a kunai ready. He saw that he was fighting with everything he could not to strike down. "I don't hate you dad, you still gave me the chance to live this long. Even with Kurama sealed inside of me, it was always worth it."

Minato felt the tears flowing quickly from his face. "I'm so sorry for everything Naruto, I owe Obito and Rin everything for taking such good care of you and making you into such a strong man."

Naruto closed his eyes as he saw the arm swing, he heard the blade cutting through flesh but he felt no pain. He slowly opened his eyes and all he could see was the Uchiha crest.

Minato stared in shock at what he was seeing, "Thank you so much. You were his brother and you helped him, I can never thank you enough."

With a cough Naruto heard the voice that made his heart drop. "I would do it all over again without a thought."

Minato looked at the man in front of him, "You always had great potential, even Kushina could see it." Minato said freely crying now, "Thank you Obito."

With a smile on his face Obito felt the light of his life fade and his eyes close for the last time. His final thoughts being of his loved ones. Rin was always there for him even before he became something close to great she was there pushing him to be better. Kakashi the boy he grew up comparing his skills to and later blamed himself for the fate of his best friend.

He thought of Naruto and Sasuke and how he they had been either infants or traumatized children but he always prided himself on giving them a home and saw their accomplishments as his own. Even when he knew they had both surpassed him and would go even farther in life made him feel like everything in life was worth it.

He felt the warmth he recognized as death fill him up and he accepted what came with it with a voice calling to him. "Sorry old friend you have one last thing you need to do."


	67. Memories

"Obito!" Rin screamed as she saw through the ash her husband fall to the ground.

With a scream Sasuke charged forward as the purple chakra of his Susanoo formed a fist knocking Minato into the distance. He held onto his older brother and checked for a pulse that he couldn't find. "Rin!" He screamed in desperation.

Coming out of her shock Rin ran over to her husband who was lying on the ground. She tried to apply the healing chakra but she could already tell that he was gone. "No, no, no, no, no!" She started to scream panicking. "You can't do this Obito!" She yelled as tears filled her eyes.

Sasuke looked and saw that Naruto was still staring blankly ahead. "Damn it Naruto, we can panic later!" Sasuke said pulling the blond out of the rubble.

Naruto looked at Obito and all the blood that he had lost. "He didn't have to do that for me." He said blankly.

Sakura ran next to Rin, "Obito Sensei!" She shouted falling to her knees and trying to apply her own healing chakra but she found the same truth that Rin had found. "He's gone." She said to everyone.

Sasuke heard Naruto's chakra cloak activate but when he looked the blond was still in his normal state. "What the…"

He was cut off by Minato, "I had hoped that Orochimaru didn't know about this." He said as the dark orange chakra covered him from head to toe. "I am so sorry Rin." He said seeing the look of pain on his students face.

Sasuke grit his teeth, "Naruto if you don't snap out of it now we are all going to die."

Naruto's eyes hadn't left Obito's corpse as he was still trying to process what had just happened. "Naruto if you don't help Rin, Sakura and I we are all dead!"

Naruto's head turned when he saw his father standing there in a chakra cloak just like his own he stood to his feet. "Sasuke, Kurama once told me about something Madara did when he fought Hashirama."

Sasuke nodded having read the legends but still thinking they were crazy. "I'll follow you lead." He said his mangekyo active.

Sakura was about to stand up to join them when Naruto shouted. "No!" He said turning to Sakura as his chakra cloak overcame his body. "You stay with Rin, Sakura. This fight is for me and Sasuke."

Sakura watched as her fiancé and his best friend stood across from the Fourth Hokage, the man who had been forced to kill their older brother. She felt Rin's hand on hers. "Take these to the others, Obito gave them to me to stop the reanimated ninja."

Sakura nodded, normally she would bring one to Naruto and Sasuke but she already knew that Naruto had a seal prepared. She ran off in the other direction, part of her wanted to stand by their sides and avenge her sensei but she also knew that it wasn't a fight for her.

Rin picked up Obito pulling on any chakra she had reserved to get him out of the way. She managed to bring him to where the other Jinchurikis were lying unconscious from the chakra strain, in a flash chakra poured out of Obito and flowed onto each of the jinchuuriki and then to her. "What?" She asked in shock.

XXXX

Naruto looked forward at Minato who was clearly stronger than he had originally let on. In an instant Naruto and Minato clashed in the middle their fists colliding and a shockwave pushing away the ash in the area.

Sasuke grit his teeth and took the chance and readied his sword coming at Minato from the side. He was mere inches away from landing the blow when Minato's hand pulled away from Naruto and grabbed the blade snapping it.

Sasuke jumped back holding the now much shorter blade in his hand. He didn't have a moment to rest though when Minato charged forward a kunai in each hand. Sasuke deflected one of the blades away with his shorter sword and jumped over the Hokage.

Naruto came next to strike as Minato hurled a kunai that Naruto caught. Sasuke ducked under a kunai slash bringing his sword up to strike when Minato blocked the blow pushing him back.

Naruto charged forward quickly but Minato jumped his hands on Naruto's back and spun around quickly to slice at Naruto who dodged under the attack leaving Minato's arms open. Sasuke seeing his chance ran forward to bring his blade into the reanimated ninja. Minato began to move his arms back together to stab at the Uchiha but stopped when he felt an incredible force kick at his legs severing them from his body. Seeing the opening Sasuke brought his blade down onto Minato slicing into the fake flesh as the blade shattered inside the body.

Minato looked at the stumps he now had in place of arms and at the ninjas in front of him ready to fight more. "He's pushing me farther now. I can't hold it back anymore, be ready." Minato said before he screamed as the chakra grew even larger before becoming the Kyuubi towering over everyone.

Naruto responded in turn and screamed as Kurama's chakra grew until it matched Minato's. "So this is what you leave me with?" Kurama asked the blond. "Now I have to fight myself?"

Naruto shrugged, "I fought myself earlier, seems to be a running theme." Naruto clenched his fists knowing that now it was do or die before he felt Sasuke's hand on his shoulder.

"We fight as one!" Sasuke shouted as his eyes shifted into their mangekyo state. With a push of chakra to his eyes purple armor grew along Kurama until he was fully covered in the purple armor of the Susanoo.

"One way or another, today I become whole." Kurama said looking ahead at his Yin half.

Minato charged forward charging his fist at Kurama before the armored fox ducked under the blow pulling a sword out of its side and taking off the entire arm.

Minato turned quickly slamming his tails into Kurama who caught them and pulled them over his head and slamming Minato back into the ground.

With a roar Kurama's hand became surrounded by black flames as he brought it down into Minato's fox stomach.

Naruto felt the influx of chakra, Kurama and his dad were fighting over the Yin half. "Sasuke we need more power!" Naruto shouted.

Sasuke had an idea, "We don't need more, he needs less!" Sasuke shouted looking towards Minato's body. The moment he needed came and he used it. "Tsukuyomi." Sasuke said.

XXXX

Minato looked all around the place he was in. It looked like a small house, "Where am I?" He asked realizing that his body was whole again when one of the doors down the hall opened.

Sasuke walked out of the room watching the man. "This is the home Naruto and I grew up in. But in reality you are in my genjutsu, we needed some extra time to take your Kyuubi."

Minato nodded looking around the room half respecting the sheer power of the genjutsu and half looking at the place his son called home growing up. "Can I see his room?" Minato asked Sasuke.

Sasuke curtly nodded, "Across from the room I came out of."

Minato stood in front of the door not sure what he was going to see. "Trust me." Sasuke said reassuring the Kage.

With a turn of the knob Minato entered the room and saw a young Naruto sitting in the middle of a room playing with a toy frog. He came into the room and was about to speak before Sasuke did. "You can't talk to him, this is one of my memories."

Minato nodded understanding when he heard Sasuke talk again this time it sounded younger. "Hey dobe." He said walking in the room. "Rin said it's time for dinner."

Naruto nodded before looking around and gesturing for Sasuke to lean in. Rolling his eyes the young Uchiha did to hear what the blond had to say.

After a moment Sasuke stood back up. "As if. Rin said it's time for dinner."

Naruto followed the Uchiha out of the room as Minato watched looking to the older Sasuke. "What did he say?"

Sasuke smiled at the ground, "It was his first promise." Minato watched closely wondering what his son could've said that left such an impression on Sasuke. "He told me he was going to be the greatest Hokage, even surpassing you." He pointed out the window and in a state of shock Minato stood up and looked to see the Hokage monument with his face clearly on it looking over Naruto.

Minato gasped shocked. "You may not have known it but you gave him strength and security. Whenever he needs to think he would sit up there even before he found out you were his father."

Minato looked to the Uchiha, "Thank you." He said as the genjutsu faded away.

XXXX

Naruto screamed pulling the last of Kurama's chakra back. He looked down as Minato laid on the ground glowing but not from Kyuubi chakra, instead it was from the reanimation being released.

Without a thought, Naruto jumped out of the chakra Kurama and landed in front of his dad. "I don't hate you for what happened." Naruto said to the fading Hokage. "Tell mom that I will do my best in this world!"

And like that Minato was gone leaving Naruto and Sasuke alone in a clearing when they heard clapping that pulled them back to reality.


	68. Beginning of the End

"I hadn't actually expected you to be able to defeat him; especially once I learned of the power he was hiding." Came the haunting voice of Orochimaru.

Naruto and Sasuke quickly turned around and saw the man standing before them his eyes no longer the sickly yellow color, no they possessed the Rinnegan with a slit on the iris. "Relax Sasuke, I no longer crave your body. This one has worked just fine."

Naruto and Sasuke stood beside one another ready for the fight. Both knew that this was the fight that mattered, if they could stop Orochimaru the entire war would end. "You won't get past us!" Naruto shouted in anger, "It's because of you that Obito is dead and I can never forgive you for that!"

Sasuke nodded his head in agreement. He had nothing to add to Naruto's statement but he agreed, Orochimaru would die for what he has done.

The snake Sannin shook his head. "I'm sorry to disappoint, but no one alive can kill what I am now."

Naruto and Sasuke froze as in a moment Orochimaru was standing behind them. They both felt the constriction of his chakra holding them in place. "I suppose I do owe it to the two of you to explain where this marvelous body came from." He said sniffing the air with his tongue. "I took samples from both of you and created a clone from it, horrible creature with serious problems but it had remarkable abilities. I decided to claim its body and low and behold the power I felt was down right," He leaned into Sasuke's ear. "Seductive." He finished dragging his tongue past the Uchiha's ear.

He continued his rant gingerly placing his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "While it did not have the Kyuubi's chakra where Naruto gains much of his strength it did however receive the benefits of the Uzumaki blood and its nearly unlimited chakra." He took his hand off Naruto's shoulder and rested it on Sasuke's cheek. "The Uchiha blood however gave me the ability to awaken my own Sharingan, but I was able to take it a step further with these eyes." He chuckled, "Let me show you what I mean."

Naruto's eyes snapped open knowing what was coming. He felt the push of the gravity launch him and Sasuke through the air and into the dirt with enough force to dig trenches around their bodies.

Sasuke pushed himself up and looked to where Orochimaru had been not seeing him. He looked to his side and saw the snake man standing over Naruto. "Now why don't you give me that fox."

Knowing that if he did nothing Naruto would die Sasuke activated his mangekyo and using a Susanoo fist smacked Orochimaru away from Naruto. "You aren't allowed to touch him." Sasuke said slowly standing to his feet.

Orochimaru stood up from the dust clearly unharmed. "Sasuke did that last fight exhaust you?"

Panting from the exhaustion Sasuke said nothing. He knew that using a Susanoo that big was going to tire him out. "Just stop talking and fight!" Sasuke shouted to the snake.

Orochimaru smiled, "I always liked that spirit of yours Sasuke, if only you had stayed loyal to me, then everything would've been so much simpler."

Naruto forced himself to stand and looked at the pale man that seemed to be taking pure pleasure from how he was toying with them. And that is exactly what it was, just like a snake toying with its prey. They were nothing more than his prey now. "I won't accept this!" Naruto shouted as the golden cloak came over him again.

Orochimaru smiled at the blond. "Poor boy, let me bring you to the others!" He raised his hand and using his control over gravity hurled the two boys to where Rin had sat with Obito's body and the other jinchuuriki who were fighting to regain consciousness.

Sasuke looked to his side and saw the body of his older brother, he looked up and saw that Rin's spirit had been completely crushed by his death. Standing up once again he looked at Orochimaru and hobbled over to stand in front of the now unconscious Naruto. "I won't let you touch him ever again!" Sasuke screamed.

In a rush of wind Sasuke was surrounded by all of Naruto's friends from the villages, including the Rock ninjas. Orochimaru quirked his head looking at the Rock ninjas. "You dare disobey your Tsuchikage?"

A woman with short black hair and a Rock headband shouted. "You killed him!" Followed by cheers of agreement from the other Rock ninjas.

"Lord Roshi told us all!" Shouted another one. They continued to get louder and louder in their accusations one after the other.

"Silence!" He shouted to the crowd and the chakra he exuded scared them into silence, but they refused to move. "Now I am going to claim every single Tailed Beast for my own and I am going to kill anyone in my way."

Sasuke grit his teeth feeling the exhaustion when he noticed Sakura and Hinata standing beside him. "Oh that is precious." Orochimaru taunted, "I made your strongest warriors look like rag dolls and yet you all think you can stand against me?"

In the blink of an eye the Raikage was in front of Orochimaru his lightning armor activated swinging his arm at full force. "Lariat!" He screamed when with a boom that sounded like thunder he saw that his arm had been caught and stopped by Orochimaru's hand.

"Another volunteer." He said pulling his arm away ripping the Raikage's arm off. As he screamed Orochimaru licked the blood from his face. "I can taste the fear." He said tossing the arm into the crowd. "Like I said I am taking them whether you like it or not. Either I do it and you live or you all behave like children and stand in the way of God." He said gesturing to himself.

Sasuke felt the hand on his shoulder and he looked and saw the beaten and bruised Naruto. "You never really understood it Orochimaru. You always tried to lead with fear and that is why you have lost every time."

He pushed himself in front of the entire crowd. "You had the perfect plan to defeat the Leaf village twice, and twice you failed. You had the perfect plan to get the Sharingan by taking Sasuke's body and you failed. You tried to take the power of the Rock village and again you failed." He smiled at the man knowing he was right. "You were even inferior to your teammates growing up."

Orochimaru visibly snapped hearing that. "Jiraiya was a fool, he only ever cared about women and their bodies. And Tsunade was the woman that claimed to be a medical genius but was too much of a coward to stay in the village. I am their better and I have always been!"

Naruto shook his head, "Then why do you switch bodies? There is always going to be someone better than you, it's a fact." He took another step forward. "I'm not the smart one, that's why I rely on Sasuke and Sakura. While he can handle himself in a fight Sasuke is a blunt person so he needs me and Sakura to soften things for him. Sakura may be the smartest of us but her strength isn't like ours. Her strength comes from her heart, we have all accepted that. It's why the ninja villages have the three ninja system."

"Enough talk!" Orochimaru shouted. "Give me the Kyuubi now!" He screamed reaching for Naruto's seal before his hand was grabbed.

He looked at Naruto and saw that his eyes had changed they were neither the blue eyes the Uzumaki boy naturally had or the red slits of the Kyuubi, they were now golden and had a cross going through the slit. "Let me show you the what I'm talking about!"


	69. A Will that can't be Broken

_Naruto groggily opened his eyes and saw that he was once again in a void. "Hey." Came a familiar voice. Naruto turned over trying to get some more sleep and instead of the white void he saw a massive paw of blue fire. "Wake up Naruto!" Came the voice again._

 _Turning over Naruto sat up quickly with who was in front of him. "Obito?" Naruto asked confused at seeing his brother again. "What are you doing here I thought you were dead?"_

 _Obito smiled and nodded, "I am dead, this is just the place in between life and death."_

 _Naruto backed up for a moment, "Does that mean I'm dead?" He asked._

 _"_ _No baka you aren't dead." Obito said to the boy. "You're here because you have a job to do."_

 _Naruto quirked his head, "What do you mean? All of us are trying to face Orochimaru."_

 _Obito looked to the ground sadly, "He can't be beaten, even with all the ninjas in the world he's too powerful. But the Biju have the power."_

 _Naruto looked around and saw that all the Tailed Beasts were surrounding them and watching. "You are the only one Naruto." Obito said, "You already have Kurama sealed inside of you and anyone else that tried to absorb his power along with the others would die."_

 _Naruto turned to Obito. "Then we let Orochimaru take them. If it kills him anyway then it would work."_

 _With a long breath Obito looked to the beasts. "The Uzumaki blood he has in his clone body would let him hold them all and you don't want to see what happens if he gets them all."_

 _Naruto nodded his head trusting Obito. "But if I absorb them then the Jinchuuriki will all die." Naruto said. "Rin will die Obito!" Naruto said panicking._

 _Obito chuckled. "No she won't you will only absorb some of their charka not all of it." He looked at him seriously. "You need to end this quickly, if you don't the power will consume your very essence and you will cease to exist." He smiled proudly at the blond. "I'm leaving everything in your hands Naruto, take care of our family and take care of the world."_

 _Naruto didn't think as his arms were wrapped around Obito. "I promise you I will." He looked up at the man, "I owe you everything, this is the least I can do to make up for the life you gave me."_

 _Obito put his hand on the boy's head. "You give me too much credit, this is the life you built for yourself. Rin and I helped you get a good start but everything you do is because of you Naruto. All the people you've helped over the years and the bonds you have formed."_

 _Naruto nodded taking a step back as Obito faded away. "I promise you Big Brother Obito, I will protect everyone."_

 _Naruto watched as his brother faded away to the next life before turning to the Tailed Beasts who watched him. Without another word they all put their paws out holding them over Naruto._

 _Naruto reached his fist out and made contact and within a moment felt the charka flood his system._

 _XXXX_

Orochimaru pulled his arm free and sneered at the smiling ninja in front of him. "Where did you get all of this power?" He asked the fear evident in his voice.

Naruto smiled, "I told you." He jumped in front of Orochimaru his fist cocked back to punch him in the stomach. "My friends!" In the blink of an eye Naruto's fist slammed through Orochimaru hurling him into the distance.

Turning quickly Naruto turned to the massive crowd. "Get out of here all of you!" He shouted. "You can't be here for this fight." He felt the power he had, and he had felt the power of every other ninja there. None of them were even close to his power. Even Sasuke wasn't half as strong as he was right now.

Sakura walked up to Naruto. "I'm not leaving you Naruto!"

Quickly Naruto glanced to Sasuke who understood the meaning. "You aren't going to fight that snake bastard without us!" She shouted as Sasuke stood beside her.

She didn't feel anything as her body went limp and she fell unconscious into Naruto's arms. "Get her out of here Sasuke. Don't let her anywhere near the battlefield, that goes for you too."

Sasuke hated it but he knew Naruto was right. The chakra he felt coming off the blond seemed never ending, and not like his chakra seemed normally, now it felt limitless.

Naruto watched as Sasuke carried Sakura away before stopping and turning his head slightly. "You owe it to all of us to make it back."

Naruto nodded. "Believe it." That was all the reassurance Sasuke needed as he joined the rest of the ninjas that were fleeing.

"Naruto." Came the voice of Gyuki. "You can't use our power forever so make it count."

Naruto nodded and turned to where he knew Orochimaru was before running off to meet with him.

XXXX

Orochimaru forced the rubble off himself, he looked around and saw that he was in the middle of a mountain. He looked at the distance and saw the ash filled battlefield he had been in a moment ago. "Kyuubi brat, now I am going to make him suffer."

Naruto landed in a few feet away from the Sannin. "Then do it Orochimaru." He said feeling the burning passion of the Bijus inside of him.

Pushing himself up Orochimaru smiled. "Fine then let's play for real." He said doing a series of hand signs in the blink of an eye and slammed his hands on the ground as Naruto was encased in a stone prison with no holes or light.

Orochimaru landed in front of the prison performing a fire jutsu melting the rock, then followed it up with a water jutsu super cooling the rock into a much harder surface.

Smiling at his work Orochimaru looked at the hardened stone knowing that the blond only had so much air before he would suffocate and die.

He was pulled from his thoughts when the mountain he was on exploded at the top spewing lava. In a flicker, Naruto was in front of the Sannin once again. "So I see you have learned a few more jutsu." Naruto said looking at the volcanic rock.

"I possess every jutsu boy!" Orochimaru snapped raising his hand up and pulling Naruto to him. "Let me show you."

Naruto felt the gravity pulling him and pulled his arms up as a wall of sand formed out of the dirt that Naruto landed against before reaching Orochimaru. He breathed easily for a moment before the pale hand reached through grabbing Naruto and hurling him away from the exploding mountain.

Naruto landed on the ground a slid a few hundred feet before stopping and seeing Orochimaru charging his way already preparing another jutsu. Bracing himself Naruto saw the man throw the shuriken and quickly realized the jutsu that was going to be used.

He ducked under another sand barrier as hundreds of shuriken slammed into it. Naruto took the advantage and pushed the sand forward but Orochimaru leaped over the wall launching a fire attack downward.

Naruto pulled on the power of Isobu and water shot out of his hands and mouth colliding with the fire creating a cloud of steam.

Seeing his opportunity Naruto jumped into the air and using the power of the steam launched himself at Orochimaru slamming his fist into the man's face.

Orochimaru reeled back from the punch and grinned at the blond that was pressuring him. His arm became encased in lightning that he shoved forward at the blond who ducked under the strike bringing his knee up the Orochimaru caught with his other arm.

Naruto backed off as Orochimaru did a seal of hand signs before slamming his hand on the ground. "Summoning jutsu!" In a blast of smoke a massive three headed dog stood in front of Naruto who didn't seem to be phased by what he was seeing.

He bent down as blue flames exploded to life on his arm as he jumped up slashing his arm at the dog taking one of its heads clean off. The beast responded by swiping at Naruto with one of its paws trying to launch him away.

The dog panicked when it felt something wet grab its paw and using the momentum he already had Naruto flipped the dog over his head.

Orochimaru watched as a tentacle receded back into Naruto. "So you have all of their powers." He said figuring it out. "The sand, the lava, the water and steam and now you use a tentacle. I must say I had underestimated you Naruto."

"Don't listen to him." Came the voice of Matatabi. "He's trying to ensnare you into a genjutsu!"

Naruto was about to jump away when he felt himself get increasingly dizzy. "I believe this is the power the two old toads that Jiraiya knew used to use. They could cause bouts of extreme vertigo with just their voices." He brought his fist back and punched Naruto as hard as he could, causing a trench to form from him sliding on the ground.

Bringing himself up Naruto marveled how his body seemed to be able to take that punch like it was almost nothing. An hour ago that punch would've taken his head off now it just left him a bit sore. "Anymore tricks you want to use?" Naruto shouted to the Sannin who was getting increasingly irritated.

"I will show you my tricks." Orochimaru said to himself as his hands came together again and performed a series of hand signs before thrusting his hands forward as a water dragon grew out of the ground hurling itself towards Naruto who flew over the attack as green wings grew out of his back.

Naruto silently thanked Chomei for the assist while staring down at the man. "Which one of us is going to run out of surprises first?" Naruto asked the man who was seething with anger.

Naruto charged forward but before he could reach Orochimaru a wall grew out of the ground that he slammed into unable to break. "Maybe you've reached your limit child." Orochimaru hissed coming around the corner.

"Before I kill you I want you to tell me why it is you fight." Orochimaru said licking the air. "I know you have this desire to protect your surrogate family but there's something else. All my life I have seen people fighting to protect the people they love and more often than not that person will die."

Naruto stood up feeling like his body was starting to feel the wear of the fight. He slowly reached into his pocket pulling out a small book. This was the journal my father kept when he was a jonin and later the Hokage.

XXXX

 _Minato watched as his wife said goodbye to his team before they made their way to Kanabi bridge before focusing solely on Obito who was scowling and avoiding her gaze. "You're clumsy and your hasty, and you're a blundering fool too. And add knucklehead to the list! So be doubly careful out there! Because if you come back injured you'll get more than my fist. Got that?" She shouted the last part to the boy._

 _Obito looked down laughing quietly to himself, "Who do you think I am, anyway? I'm going to become Hokage, Lord Obito Uchiha." He said pointing to himself. "Please there's nothing to worry about. I'll make the mission a success and bring everyone home without a scratch. That's a promise." He said looking determined._

 _Kushina watched to see if the boy wavered in his words but when she saw no signs of giving up she smiled and grabbed her own arm. "You better keep that promise." The two shared a laugh before Team Minato walked away from the village to their mission._

 _XXXX_

"Obito was my mom's favorite of the group." Naruto said to a listening Orochimaru. "She told me dad that it was because he was a part of her dream. That if they ever had a child they would want them to grow up to be brave and strong like Obito, with a will that can never be broken." He smiled at the memory of the first time he read that part.

"She said I didn't have to be smart and could even be a little cocky, if I had a gentle spirit. With a will that can't be broken!" Naruto wiped the tear off his face. "After I read that I decided I would live the rest of my life trying to do what I know my brother Obito Uchiha would do."

Orochimaru continued to listen to the reasoning. "Which is why I will not let you destroy my world!" Naruto screamed as he unleashed the power that Kurama had been holding back in a flash of golden chakra.

XXXX

Sasuke and Hinata watched from the distance shocked at what they had just seen. Sakura had already regained consciousness and was tending to any of the wounded but stopped when she felt the impossible amount of chakra that Naruto had released. "What did he do?" She asked the two dojutsu users.

Sasuke smiled looking in the distance. "What Naruto always does." He paused for a moment looking at the sheer chakra that was radiating. "Winning!"

XXXX

Orochimaru covered his eyes and looked at the being in front of him. Naruto was standing there with chakra radiating off of his body but unlike when he used the Kyuubi and everything was covered in chakra now it was his clothes and his skin turned a pink color. And he had black orbs of pure chakra floating behind him.

With a smile Naruto charged forward smiling as he brought his fist into Orochimaru's stomach. "Now we fight for real." He said grinning feeling the power that Orochimaru was giving in response.

Both jumped away before jumping back and throwing as many blows as they could before running back up the mountain that was spilling lava everywhere. Naruto turned one of the orbs into a board to ride over the lava and the other one into a staff.

Orochimaru charged forward at the boy performing the hand signs as his hand grew in size. Naruto ducked under the fist sliding on the board up the mountain before jumping off of it and flying towards the Sannin smacking him in the face.

Orochimaru soared through the mountain never losing any momentum and sustaining burns. He looked up in anger and saw Naruto floating in the air. With a push of chakra Orochimaru used his Rinnegan to lift himself into the air to join the blond.

Naruto braced himself as the punch landed on his chest. Orochimaru pulled back a slimy hand before feeling Naruto's foot hit his jaw. "Blast it boy why were you holding back?" He asked furious that he was being toyed with all along.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Why not, I wanted a good fight while I had all of this power." He smiled at the Sannin who was only getting angrier by the second.

"Fine then I will just kill you and be done with it!" He pressed his palms together. "Planetary Devastation!" He shouted as a black orb flew into Naruto and rocks began slamming into him.

Orochimaru laughed seeing the boy now trapped in the massive sphere of rock that was holding him in place. "Now what is there to laugh about Naruto!" Orochimaru screamed into the air. "You have been imprisoned by the power of Kami!"

XXXX

Sasuke grimaced seeing what was happening as Sakura stood beside him watching in worry. "He's not out of the game yet." Sasuke said believing in Naruto.

Sakura looked at the Uchiha who was watching the battle with his Sharingan active. He never wanted to forget what he was about to see.

XXXX

Orochimaru continued to laugh as he lowered himself to the ground when he heard someone whistle.

"Wow that's quite the jutsu." Naruto said standing on the ground away from the sphere. "Almost had me there."

Orochimaru gasped in shock. "You were sealed!" He shouted.

Naruto shook his head, "Only kind of. I still had some chakra around to get myself out of trouble."

Orochimaru looked when realization struck him. "The Hirashin. Damn that Minato!" He screamed.

Naruto pointed in all seriousness. "The powers of the people you killed will be the powers that kill you!"

With an explosion of rock Orochimaru looked up and saw nine Naruto clones floating in the air, "Super Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken!" They all screamed as the multi colored spheres of rotating chakra descended on him as he screamed in pain.

Naruto walked to where he knew Orochimaru was laying and subdued. "So is this the part where you say some happy words to rekindle the light in my heart?" Orochimaru spat slowly sitting up but knowing that he was beaten.

Naruto shook his head as Sand bound Orochimaru into place. "This isn't that kind of story." Naruto raised his hand as the Truth Seeker Orbs behind him rose into the air over Orochimaru and lengthened into spikes. Naruto lowered his hand as they slammed into the Sannin killing him.

XXXX

Sasuke seeing that it was over ran full speed to where Naruto was, followed by Sakura. Once he neared the location he saw Naruto staring down at the impaled body of Orochimaru lifelessly hanging from the chakra rods.

Naruto didn't turn to either of them. "It's finally over." He didn't talk for a moment. "I'm sorry, I wasn't fast enough." He said turning to the two as his face had turned a pale white.

He released the chakra mode falling to his knees as the white spots on his face started to bloat.

Sasuke grit his teeth. "I'm not losing you!" He shouted sliding in front of Naruto making eye contact but not being able to bypass the Tailed Beast chakra that was reacting violently.

Sakura put her hands on Sasuke's back using all of the remaining chakra she had in her seal as it spread onto Sasuke's body giving him even more chakra.

XXXX

In a flash, they were in a blank void with no floors or ceilings. They looked saw Naruto floating in the fetal position mumbling to himself.

Sasuke used his chakra to float over to Naruto and Sakura followed. When they looked closely at him his skin had turned completely white and horns had grown out of his forehead. Sakura reached out to touch him but Naruto grabbed her hand aggressively.

She reacted quickly trying to pull her arm back but Naruto was anchored in place as he turned his head to look at her and opened his eyes they now possessed the Rinnegan with tomoe on the rings like a Sharingan.

"Naruto is gone and in moments I will be free." Naruto's body said but the voice was clearly not his.

Sasuke shook his head. "Whatever you are I'm walking out of here with Naruto."

Naruto looked over Sasuke before speaking in the woman's voice again. "You do not have enough chakra to save him Indra, Ashura's body is mine and I will be free once again."

XXXX

In the real world, everyone surrounded the remaining members of Team 7 who were frozen in place. Hinata using her Byakugan saw that they were all in a genjutsu but there was a fourth chakra signature inside of Naruto that was taking over.

Hinata looked to the others. "They are locked in a genjutsu and are in trouble we have to get them out." She said walking and putting her hand on Sasuke.

One by one all the ninjas started feeding their chakra into the trio. Even the ninjas of the other villages added their chakra to save their hero.

Rin focused all of her chakra and released the seal on her forehead once again and using the chakra from Isobu was able to spread the seal to everyone that was there as they all added their chakra reserves.

XXXX

Sakura felt the new flow of chakra as she turned around and saw everyone standing there watching. She turned to Naruto, "Is this enough chakra to bring him back?" She asked angrily.

Naruto's new eyes scanned the area, it will take even more to stop my resurrection. Came the female voice.

With a shout, everyone pushed all of their chakra at once as Sasuke used his Sharingan to cast another genjutsu this time on the tailed beasts inside of Naruto forcing all of them out at once.

XXXX

In the real world Sasuke looked as the masses of chakra flew back into their original hosts as Naruto's skin shrank back to its normal size. The blond looked at everyone smiling before falling to the ground passing out.


	70. End of Her Watch

The light was the first thing that Naruto noticed waking up. Followed immediately by the blinding pain in his side, "Hell!" Naruto cursed clutching his ribs.

He felt someone on top of him in a moment and his ribs hurt again. He was going to react as if he was under attack until he saw the pink hair. "Sakura." Naruto gently said wrapping his arm around her.

She let go of him looking at him smiling with tears still in her eyes. "Don't you scare me like that baka." She said rubbing his hand to feel that it was really him.

"What happened?" Naruto asked confused by what was going on. "Last thing I remember was everyone standing there before I passed out.

Sakura rubbed the tears from her eyes. "After you beat Orochimaru the rest of the Sound surrendered and the Rock agreed to a truce. Lady Tsunade and some of the council members are working on making sure this peace lasts."

Naruto nodded sitting up with a grimace before leaning his back against the wall he was near. He looked away afraid to ask what had been going through his mind. "What about Rin?"

Sakura held his hand tighter knowing that was a difficult thing for Naruto to talk about but he deserved to know. "She went back to the village with Obito sensei's body."

Naruto nodded feeling the first bit of tears fall away hearing that. "He didn't have to die, if I had only been stronger."

Sakura knew he was spiraling so she sat on his cot and just held him. "Naruto everyone knows that you did everything you could."

Naruto held onto her for dear life. With Orochimaru dead there was no one left to be upset with besides himself. "That bastard took too much away from me." He said holding her in his arms and openly sobbing.

XXXX

Outside the tent Sasuke was looking at the night sky and how large the moon seemed to be. He too had felt the loss of Obito but he tried to hide it. He knew he was doing a poor job because the only people he would speak to were Sakura, Rin, and Hinata. All of whom were busy so that left him alone to think about everything that was happening when he heard someone sit beside him.

"If you want to get some sleep I will watch over them." Came the relaxed voice of Shikamaru.

Sasuke looked away knowing that the Nara was trying to help but right now Sasuke wouldn't trust anyone with the safety of his family but himself. "Thanks for the offer."

Shikamaru shrugged and laid on the ground looking to the sky. "He was proud of you." He said simply gaining Sasuke's attention. "He may have called himself your older brother but he still saw the two of you as his sons."

Sasuke silently looked back to the moon. He could tell that Obito was proud of him ever since he had come back to the village but that didn't mean he wasn't going to miss him.

Shikamaru saw someone coming and stood up. "Well I think I should probably help everyone pack up so we can all go home tomorrow."

Sasuke watched the Nara leave and he knew why as he felt a head resting against his shoulder. "This cutesy crap isn't like you."

Hinata chuckled, "Well don't get used to it. How are you?"

Sasuke looked back into the tent and saw Naruto sitting up and eating. "Naruto is awake so I'm better."

Hinata understood why he felt that way. She knew Sasuke wouldn't be able to handle losing two brothers in the same day. "You want any help packing up?"

Sasuke put his arm around her silently enjoying the feeling of someone else. "No I already packed everything. Are you all ready to go?"

Hinata chuckled, "Neji was going to help me pack but somehow Lee was convinced it was a kind of training so he packed everything up and said he was going to carry it all there." She saw the look Sasuke was giving her, "What? If he wants to better himself I'm not going to stand in the way of his 'youth'."

Sasuke chuckled quietly to himself. "I wonder what the villagers are going to do once we all get back." He didn't want to ask about the position of Hokage because to him that was still Obito's job.

XXXX

Naruto was standing in Rin's living room waiting for her to finish getting ready for the funeral. The blond was holding little Kakashi and smiling at the small boy who smiled back.

Rin came out of the room in her mourning clothes and silently took Kakashi from Naruto. "You didn't have to walk me." She said as she headed for the door.

Naruto nodded in understanding but he felt that he needed to keep an eye on her and Kakashi now. He owed it to her and Obito to do that much. Of course, he never said that aloud because Rin would just dismiss it and tell him not to worry about her. But he could hear her crying at night in her room and he hated the feeling of not being able to do anything to help her.

Walking through the silent village it started to rain. The silence between them all was uncomfortable for the blond but he didn't want to push Rin right now because he wasn't sure how she would react to anything.

XXXX

At the funeral Naruto, Rin, Kakashi and Sakura were sitting in the front row as a priest talked about death and everything it meant. Naruto tuned most of it out ignoring the speech and just hoping that he could find some way to help his family but nothing was coming to mind. So he just sat in silence with Sakura on one side of him and Rin on the other.

He noticed that both women looked ahead and listened without showing any emotions and he looked farther and saw that the seat for Sasuke was empty for some reason. The blond thought about it for a moment but he knew Sasuke had his reasons.

XXXX

Sasuke was standing in the middle of the training field that he knew no one used, he had taken his mourning shirt off already and was punching the tree as hard as he could as the tears fell down his face.

"Damn you Obito!" He shouted in between punches. "Why the hell did you have to go?" He charged the chakra and the Susanoo fist took the tree out of its roots. He fell to his knees and looked at the rain as it was falling it was almost hypnotic but the rain falling in his eyes hurt so he leaned forward this time looking directly at the ground.

Not stopping to think he started pounding his fists into the mud screaming obscenities at nothing in particular until he felt the rain stop.

He looked up and saw Hinata holding an umbrella over him and wearing her mourning clothes. "I didn't see you at the funeral." She said kneeling down. "If you don't go you're going to regret it." She used her free hand to guide him up.

"I can't go looking like this." He said gesturing to his clothes.

"I brought you a spare now come on." She said pulling him along.

XXXX

Naruto was standing in front of Obito's open coffin. He was wearing his Hokage robes again and he looked so peaceful. Looking back at all of his memories he realized that Obito ever looked calm. Sure he had relaxed but the word calm was never the proper word. Excited, joyful, ecstatic. Those words seemed to fit him better, but the Hokage was supposed to be someone who was respected.

Naruto looked up at the Hokage monument and he knew that the face of the Sixth Hokage wasn't going to be the same Obito that had raised him. It would be the one that will be respected by future generation.

Seeing that it was his turn to speak Naruto approached the podium. "Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." Naruto began. "Those were the words Obito Uchiha lived by, he always gave more of himself than he had to."

Naruto noticed that Sasuke had arrived with Hinata but stood at the back of the crowd. "His friends and family meant the world to him and he always felt the village was a part of that family. These were the lessons that Obito Uchiha taught me growing up, and these are the lessons that I will carry with me for the rest of my life."

Some more words were said about Obito but the end of the funeral was the Hokage being buried underneath where their head would go in the rock formation. Obito's head wasn't there yet but some of the ninjas had worked to at least make sure that his grave was ready.

Rin watched as her husband was slowly inserted into the rock structure and felt the tears threatening to fall again. She tried to hold them back as she felt arms wrap around her, she looked up and saw Naruto looking forward and crying himself.

XXXX

 _Obito and Kakashi had just deflected all the shuriken that rained down on them. Obito smiled feeling proud of his ability to block that many attacks at once. He grimaced when he saw that one of the shuriken had lodged itself in his hand. He quickly tried to cover up the wound. "Well I guess that's it." He said smiling nervously at the other two members of his team._

 _Rin stomped over to the boy staring him down. "Show me your hand." She said leaving no room for arguments._

 _Obito tried to play it off like it was no big deal but Rin wasn't hearing it. "Just show it to me." She demanded._

 _Rin started to bandage the wound up quick enough when Obito spoke up. "I messed up and got dust in my eye." He said making his usual excuse. Then he laughed, "Most women think scars are sexy anyway." He said trying to lighten the mood._

 _Rin tightened the bandages suddenly to get him to shut up. "Don't act tough and try to hide your wounds. I'm always watching you." She said looking up at his big black eyes. "You promised me that you would be Hokage. Listen I want to stop this war too, so I've decided to stick by your side and watch over you. You told me saving you was the same as saving the world remember?"_

 _Obito started to feel the tears well up hearing those words coming from Rin was like a dream come true. Someone finally believed in him._

 _"_ _Since I'm keeping an eye on you," Rin started "You can't hide anything from me anymore."_

 _Obito nodded fighting to hold back the tears. "Yeah, yeah." He said closing his eyes tightly._

 _"_ _Go for it Obito. Become Hokage and show me how you'll save the world." She said smiling at the Uchiha boy. "Let's go." She said pulling him along with her for the rest of their lives together._

 _XXXX_

Rin finally let the tears go relaxing into Naruto's arms. Sakura was holding Kakashi now and the tomb was sealed shut. Rin looked forward knowing that was the last time she was able to watch him and the pain was almost too much to bear before she heard Naruto speak up.

"I won't let you down Big Brother." Naruto said between chokes. "I will prove that it was worth it. You'll see one day."

Rin looked at Naruto and realized that Obito had saved the world, he had saved Naruto. His dying action had been him fulfilling his first promise to her. "You did it Obito." She said as the last of the rocks sealed the entrance.


	71. Where I Belong

Naruto was sitting on his father's head looking out on the village. It had been two years since the war and things were finally slowing down again. Tsunade had taken the position of Hokage back for the time being but a replacement had yet to be selected.

The breeze blew Naruto's hair bringing with it the smell of all the foods being prepared in the Uchiha district. He smiled remembering what today was, if he was late he would probably get a beating from Rin and then Sakura so with a groan he stood up and stretched. "Good talking with you dad." Naruto said blinking away in a flash of light.

XXXX

Sasuke was sitting in a room of one of the spare houses in the Uchiha district tapping his foot frustrated. When Shikamaru walked in the room. "He's still not here?"

Sasuke grunted, "The dobe is out in the village somewhere. If he's late I will never hear the end of it. Damn that Hirashin, makes him impossible to track."

Shikamaru shrugged his arms. "Glad he chose you then, would've been a real drag." He sat in another chair across from Sasuke when a flash of light revealed Naruto.

"Miss me?" The blond asked rubbing the back of his head.

Sasuke stood up, "And you aren't even dressed yet. Put on your clothes dobe." He tossed the outfit to Naruto who caught it with a smile.

XXXX

Sasuke was standing next to Shikamaru and Naruto waiting for everything to start. He noticed that Naruto was fidgeting in the black kimono he was wearing so Sasuke lightly shoved him. "Sit still so you don't wrinkle it."

Naruto looked back at the grinning Sasuke. "What?"

Shaking his head, "Nothing. Just never thought we'd be standing here." Naruto glared at his oldest friend. "With the way you were in the academy standing here for this is a total shocker."

Shikamaru rubbed his ear. "Sasuke's right you know."

Naruto looked away from the two. "Thanks for the vote of confidence guys, means a lot to me."

"Believe it." Shikamaru said scratching his nose.

Sasuke's eyes bulged hearing that and he had to fight the urge to laugh out loud. He knew it would probably end badly for him if he did.

A moment later the music started and all three men stiffened up. The first person they saw approaching was Rin, she was wearing a simple kimono that was traditional for the women of the Uchiha clan, after her Ino walked wearing a purple kimono.

Little Kakashi came out next on the long-rehearsed walk he would have to make, he was taught to walk to either his mom or Naruto, either one getting him where he needed.

Next Asuma and Kurenai's daughter stood in the door way for a moment before walking to the music and tossing the cherry blossoms on the ground to the music before she reached the front and stood off to the side like Kakashi had done.

The music stopped briefly before a different song played as Sakura walked around the corner smiling nervously.

Naruto felt like his stomach was jumping up and down from how nervous he felt. He hardened his resolve and smiled ahead as she started to walk forward to the music.

She was blushing so much that she was sure that her cheeks were the same shade as her hair that she had grown out a bit more since the war. She had decided to let it fall normally but still obsessed over making sure that every hair was in the proper place.

After she reached the alter Naruto reached his hand out smiling to his blushing bride. "Hey Sakura." Naruto said happy to see her again. Sakura smiled taking his hand and stepping onto the same level as him.

Tsunade looked at them both smiling before beginning. "Today we come to create a union between two people that have done more than could ever be mentioned in one ceremony. They have decided to formalize their union in front of the village and its elders as a show of their love."

She continued. "They have known most of you for a majority of their lives, and have fought alongside many of you as well today they put aside their kunai in place of rings."

She looked over as Sasuke lightly pushed Kakashi forward holding the rings on a pillow. Tsunade bent down smiling at the little boy. "These rings were created by the Lava and Earth users from our friends at the Village hidden in the Rocks. They are said to be of a volcanic rock formation that is unbreakable just as the bond between Naruto and Sakura could never be broken."

Tsunade handed the rings to each of them. Holding Sakura's ring tightly in his hand Naruto started his vow. "Sakura from the moment I met you when we were kids I knew you were the one for me. Even when we were simply friends I always wanted more and was going to work to earn your love, and I'm proud to say that I earned it."

He gingerly put the ring on Sakura's hand before she spoke up. "Naruto ever since we were little you always looked out for me and were willing to go to the ends of the world to make me smile. If I could I would kick my younger self for not noticing you sooner, your attitude and persistence, your drive to protect the people you love are traits any woman would dream of having in a husband."

She reached out and put the ring onto Naruto's finger before Tsunade spoke again. "Now Naruto, do you take Sakura as your wife?"

Without waiting Naruto said. "Yes!" Louder than he had intended which got a laugh out of the audience.

Tsunade looked to Sakura. "And do you Sakura take Naruto to be your husband?"

Smiling brightly Sakura nodded her head, "I do."

"Then Naruto you may kiss your bride." Tsunade said to the blond who reached out and brought Sakura into a tender kiss.

"For the first time I would like to introduce Naruto and Sakura Uzumaki of the Village Hidden in the Leaves!" Tsunade shouted as the audience stood up and cheered at that.

XXXX

Sasuke was sitting in the Uchiha district square in his chair at the family table. Hinata was sitting next to him as well and watching the people enjoying themselves and waiting for Naruto and Sakura to make it back.

Hinata lightly elbowed him to get his attention. "And this is why I didn't want us to have a big wedding."

Sasuke chuckled, "Your father still blames me for him not being invited."

Hinata chuckled, "Well Naruto was there."

Sasuke turned to look at her. "Naruto wasn't invited he just followed me out of the village to our spot."

Hinata rolled her eyes, "Sure, and the legendary Sasuke Uchiha, Jonin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves couldn't lose a tail."

Shrugging his shoulders, "Didn't see a reason to." He said smiling as he took a sip of water. If he were honest he was glad that Naruto was there as well. If he weren't it would've just been him, Hinata and the priest Sasuke knew from his travels."

XXXX

Naruto was sitting in the changing room with a silly smile on his face while Sakura checked her hair again in the mirror. "Mrs. Uzumaki." He said getting her attention. "I think we should get a bigger place."

Sakura waved him off. "Already found one Naruto." She said giggling at the look on his face. "I heard you talking about it with Sasuke and wanting to be closer to the Uchiha district.

Naruto cocked his head as Sakura reached into her bag and handed him a photo. He looked at it quickly. "The house I grew up in?" He asked perplexed. "But it was destroyed when Danzo attacked."

Sakura nodded smiling. "I called in a few favors with Tenzo and it's finished and ready to be moved into."

Naruto jumped up pulling his wife into a hug. "Thank you so much Sakura." He said happily rubbing her back and enjoying the feeling of holding her.

XXXX

As the reception died down Rin was sitting at a table with Kurenai and Asuma watching their two kids try and dance like little kids do to the music.

Kurenai's eyes widened when she felt Rin pull her into a hug, they had become good friends after Obito's passing but Rin had never done this. "What's wrong?" She asked seeing that Rin was focusing on Kakashi and Mirai.

"They're so cute!" She shouted having had a few drinks. "They'll go to the academy together and fall in love!"

Kurenai stared shocked at the drunk woman holding her. "They're only two and three Rin we have time before we even need to think about that."

Sasuke was sitting at a table across from Tsunade the both of them had rosy cheeks. "How many?" Kiba whispered to Hinata who was holding her face embarrassed.

"They're both at 50. I am not helping his hungover ass tomorrow." She said angrily.

The two inebriated ninjas both took another shot swaying in their seats. "No healing jutsu, granny." Sasuke said not realizing he was using Naruto's nickname for the woman.

"I don't need it to beat you teme!" She shouted taking another shot that he matched her for.

Kiba stared wide eyed. "Do they turn into Naruto when their drunk? I swear if either of them say 'believe it' I'm going to start training with Lee."

Hinata looked at her teammate with a smirk. "Like you could keep up with him."

The Inuzuka scoffed as Ino came up to the group. "They can't really still be going." She said in shock of what was happening."

Hinata lowered her face frustrated when Sasuke leaned on the table passing out. Tsunade raised her hands into the air cheering at her victory. "Ha I won believe it!"

Kiba was about to curse his luck when he felt an arm around his shoulder. "Kiba has willingly given himself to the power of youth!" The bowl cut ninja screamed to the air.

"Ha!" Hinata said to her overconfident teammate as he was taken away by the 'Green Beast'.

Naruto came over having watched most of it. "I'll get him home." He said smiling at Hinata.

Hinata pushed him back. "If I let the two of you go off neither Sakura or I will see you for hours so I think I'll take him back home myself." She said playfully.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck as Hinata carried her passed out husband back to their house in the Uchiha district.

Naruto looked at everyone and how much they were smiling, "If only you could see me now Big Brother Obito."


	72. A New Day Dawns

"You can't be serious sensei?" The black haired ninja said to the Hokage. "I just made Jonin, I'm not ready to teach."

The Hokage shrugged his shoulders. "I wasn't much older than you were when I trained you." He said smiling at the shocked jonin in front of him.

"But you want me to train them?" He asked shocked that this was all happening.

The Hokage nodded sternly. "They are smart kids but they need a sensei that they trust to bring out their potential and they don't trust anyone more than you."

Sighing as he walked out the door the young ninja turned to the Hokage. "I will do my best sensei."

XXXX

Walking through the halls of the academy the jonin had his hands in his pockets. He felt his usual orange book in his pocket and smirked knowing his mother would throw a fit if she knew he had them. Even though she owned every single one in the series.

He came to the door where he knew they would all be and he paused for a moment when he heard them laughing quietly on the other side of the door. He smiled before opening the door and sticking his head in. He felt the eraser fall on his head as he looked at the three young ninjas in the room.

"Ha Kakashi fell for it!" The loud blond shouted.

"Wait is Kakashi our sensei?" Asked the girl with white eyes.

"He has to be." Said the quiet boy with black eyes. "Why else would he be in here."

Looking at the three in the room Kakashi Uchiha knew he had his work cut out for him. "Well I suppose we should go out on the roof." He said turning around already feeling the migraine coming.

XXXX

He leaned against the railing as the three of them sat waiting for him to start when the blond spoke up. "Kakashi why do we need to introduce ourselves?" He asked already knowing just about everything about his new teammates.

"Because it builds teamwork and lets you realize what you want." He said remembering the speech his sensei had given him.

The blond spoke up first excited to get started. "My name is Minato Uzumaki, I like…" He looked to his right and saw the girl looking back at him so he pulled on his color before continuing. "Ramen and the cookies that Aunt Rin makes. What I don't like is people who talk down to me and my friends, because after they do I have to fight them and then my mom gets mad at me." He looked forward excited. "My dream is to become an even greater ninja than my father or Uncle Sasuke!"

Kakashi nodded already knowing the blond boy well when the girl spoke up. "My name is Sarada Uchiha I like proving my strength against the others and that I'm worth it." She said vaguely. "I don't like it when my brother thinks he's better than me!" She said snapping on the boy next to her. "My dream is to become the Hokage after Lord Seventh!"

Kakashi rolled his eyes hearing her try to start a fight with her brother. He still remembers the day that Aunt Hinata found out that she was going to be having twins, she almost put Sasuke into a coma by closing most of his chakra points.

Finally came the boy who seemed unfazed by his sister's comments. "My name is Itachi Uchiha, I'm not really sure what you want me to say, I guess I like competing against Minato." He said not sure of what to say. "I don't like try hards, or people who disrespect the people I care about. And my dream is to see my precious people happy."

Kakashi nodded his head stealing a glance at the Hokage monument that had his father's face on it as well as his sensei's. "I guess the things you taught father were passed on to another generation." He said silently to himself knowing that neither of his uncles would let him forget those lessons.

He stood up and looked at his new team. "Alright Team 7 we will meet at training ground 7 tomorrow morning." He said with a thumbs up before using a shunshin to disappear.

XXXX

Sakura was sitting on her couch after having finished the longest shift of her life. She felt like she hadn't actually been home in days, even though she knew she was home 12 hours ago, it just felt long. She looked up as the door opened and she saw Minato walk through the door. "So you excited for your team?" She asked smiling already knowing who he was going to be placed with.

Minato quickly nodded his head in excitement. "Yeah I'm on a team with Sarada and Itachi! Plus Kakashi is our sensei!"

Sakura smiled at her son who was excited to start his own adventures in the ninja world. She had personally given up the head band shortly after having him and now worked at the hospital. She never once regretted that decision because it kept her closer to her family. "Well I suppose we should go get something to eat, what do you feel like?" She asked already knowing the answer.

"Ichiraku!" The boy screamed. His father had passed on his love for ramen and the boy accepted it as the best food on the planet.

XXXX

Itachi and Sarada walked into the quiet house, they both knew their father wasn't home and their mother was on a mission as well. When they were little they would go to Aunt Rin's after school but now that they were ninja they would just go to their own home.

Before Sarada could close the door to her room Itachi spoke up. "So now that you and him are on the same team are you going to tell him?"

She froze in place slowly turning her head, Itachi paled seeing the veins on her face and eyes. "Don't tell him brother." She simply said before walking into her room.

Itachi wiped the sweat off of his brow, he still hated that his sister was able to awaken the Byakugan but he hadn't activated either the Sharingan or the Byakugan. His mother and father were the best in the world with their eyes, even though there were only two Sharingan users that didn't change that fact.

XXXX

The Hokage was sitting in his office reading over more papers. He really hated this part of the job, he sees what bothered Obito and Tsunade so much about it. The stuff never ended and his assistant Shikamaru seemed to revel in his suffering.

Speaking of he walked into the room. "The other Kage are ready for you Lord Hokage." He said sarcastically.

Getting up the Hokage made sure that his desk was good enough that he would be able to pick up where he left up he grabbed his Hokage jacket and followed Shikamaru through the door. "They're all here then?"

Shikamaru nodded his head. "Even the Tsuchikage was willing to make an appearance." After the war the Rock had become very secretive from its shame and didn't want the world to know the identity of the new Tsuchikage, so only the other Kage knew and a few select people that worked with them.

Opening the door to the meeting room the Hokage looked at the other Kage and smiled, this would be the first time that all the Kages that met together were jinchuuriki.

"I'm glad you could join us." The Raikage Yugito said grinning.

"Remember who his teacher was." Said the Mizukage Utakata who had been chosen for the position after his help in the war.

"Well since Nine is here we can get under way." Said the Tsuchikage Roshi smiling that he was with some of his favorite people.

Gaara simply nodded along with the meeting.

Naruto smiled taking his seat and putting his hat on the table like the others had done. "Let's get this Kage summit going."

XXXX

Sasuke dusted off a book in the ancient library he had found. It was one of few places he could find any information on what he was looking for. He flipped through the pages until he saw the illustration of a grey woman with long white hair floating over two others.

He closed the book when he thought he heard a noise. "I will learn more about you Kaguya." He said moving onto the next book.

Hidden on the libraries ceiling a man with skin as black as night and blank yellow eyes watching Sasuke. He smiled at the irony of what Sasuke had just said.

 **AN: Well that's the story of team Obito. I had originally started messing with this story trying to just improve my writing skills but it ended up becoming something I really enjoyed doing the past month and a half. For everyone who has made it this far thank you very much for taking the time out of your schedule to read something that I spent a lot of time working on. I think this is by far the longest thing I've ever written. So Reviews are greatly appreciated and I left that last scene in place in case I ever decide to return to this AU. Could be soon, or it could never happen but if I do start it I will finish it.**


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